


Artificial Grass

by XILVerify



Category: ASTRO (Band), K-pop, VIXX
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Angst and Feels, Astro Are Cute and VIXX Are Conflicted About It: The Fic, De-Aged Characters, Ethical Dilemmas, Families of Choice, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Human Experimentation, Hurt/Comfort, Hybrids, Moral Ambiguity, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-01-06 01:17:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 44,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21218156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XILVerify/pseuds/XILVerify
Summary: 25 years after the balefire bombs fell, turning large chunks of the Korean peninsula into uninhabitable wasteland saturated with potent necromantic radiation, a team of crack scientists in a remote research facility in what used to be the South Gyeongsang province work tirelessly to try to find a way to return life back to their small corner of the earth, and have just finished a side project meant to further assist them with their research. However, after this project unexpectedly develops a mind of its own - six of them, to be exact – the scientists are forced to reconsider many things, about themselves, their goals, their creations, and what they thought they were willing to do in the name of the greater good.(or: An AU where Astro are plant/human hybrids created by VIXX in a post-apocalyptic fantasy version of Korea.)Crossover between VIXX’s Scentist and Astro’s All Night MVs





	1. The Chrysanthemum and the Gladiolus

**Author's Note:**

> From the first time I saw it, Astro’s All Night reminded me strongly of VIXX’s Scentist, just much lighter and softer and without the creepy undertones (Scentist Lite, if you will). The more I thought about it, the more the idea of combining the two MV aesthetics appealed to me, and about 10 months of brainstorming later, the first chapter of this monster is ready to go at last. In the process of plotting this thing, quite a few other groups got incorporated into it as well, so there’ll be a good number of cameos here (to the surprise of exactly no one I'm sure).
> 
> A lot of inspiration for the worldbuilding here was drawn from Kkat’s “Fallout Equestria,” and Zarla’s “Handplates,” so a big shoutout to them goes here, as well as to my brainstorming partner Erisette for patiently listening to me ramble over the months and for suggesting the title of this AU.

_ I don’t need the sun or water_   
_ Because I can live fully without those things_   
_ I don’t need to worry about withering_   
_ Because I won’t lose my color even if I’m stepped on_

_Everything looks good_   
_ All things I have are looking good_   
_ But the reason I can’t be happy_   
_ You know why?_

_I want to breathe too_   
_ I want to swallow the rain and lay roots_   
_ Like real grass_   
_ Like real grass_

** _\- "Artificial Grass" by AKMU_ **

* * *

Cha Hakyeon was, frankly, more terrified than he’d ever been in his entire life. Also more excited, more nervous, more hopeful, more elated, more a dozen other emotions he had no ready name for. Six years. Six years of his and his colleagues’ combined blood, sweat, and tears had all led up to this moment, and his brain can’t stop going over all the ways this could go horribly wrong, how the project could die before it even had a chance to properly live. But he also couldn’t stop thinking about all the ways it could go right, too, and those thoughts were the only things kept him going. They’d come this far and accounted for every contingency they could possibly think of; there was absolutely no reason why everything shouldn’t go off without a hitch. Of course, that’s also what they thought about the previous batches…

_No_, he wasn’t going there, not now, not today. Everything would be fine. It would be _fine_. It had to. It _had_ to.

The scientist paced faster, back and forth near the terrarium set up in the center of the lower main laboratory, unable to keep still. Inside the terrarium, Honeysuckle followed him back and forth with her head from her coiled perch in the branches of a large piece of driftwood, her thin, forked tongue darting out to taste the air at random intervals. The strains of a random melody floated through the air from Taekwoon’s corner of the room, where he sat at his custom transmutation piano, tapping out a tune with one hand while nursing his fourth cup of synthesized coffee with the other. Jaehwan sat at his main station, scribbling madly in one of his many notebooks. Which left-

“Found them!” Wonshik’s deep voice boomed, the tall man ducking around a shelf while holding another set of towels. “Sorry, I forgot that I’d stashed them in my office while setting up the extraction process for that batch of wisteria Yerim brought over yesterday.”

Hakyeon, keyed up as he was, couldn’t contain a violent start of surprise at the sudden entrance. He was still getting used to the younger man’s half-pink, half-purple hair, too; the dye had been a gift from Taekwoon for Wonshik’s birthday last week, who had dyed his own hair pale silver in solidarity. Alchemists and their quirks. Hakyeon didn’t understand their obsession with constantly changing and augmenting their bodies, but as long as it made them happy, then he wasn’t going to say anything about it.

“Thanks, Wonshikkie,” Hakyeon instead said, smiling gratefully and setting the stack beside the other two they’d collected. “I think that’s everything. All that’s left is for Hongbin and Sanghyuk to get here, and we’ll be ready to start. How are you holding up, Jaehwan?” he asked, addressing the other geneticist while he wandered over and glanced over his shoulder.

“Fine and dandy, thanks for asking,” was the terse reply, signifying that the other man was anything but.

“Is that…?” Hakyeon squinted incredulously at the formulas and sketches covering the pages as he tried to make sense of them. “A dahlia… and a _corgi_? _Really_, Jaehwan?” 

“Hey, it’s either this or go a few dozen rounds in the shooting range, and if I have to be here, then some impromptu gene sequencing it is, okay?”

“…Fair enough,” Hakyeon replied, backing away with his hands held up in a placating gesture. “Carry on then.”

He glanced over at Taekwoon and eyed his cup of coffee warily. “Out of curiosity, Taekwoon, did you get any sleep last night at all?”

“Oh, he slept,” Wonshik interjected before Taekwoon could reply, coming up behind the slightly shorter man and clapping a hand on his shoulder. “I confiscated the synthesizer after lunch yesterday. He’ll be acting like his old self in no time once the caffeine kicks back in.”

Taekwoon glowered wordlessly at the younger alchemist before leaning over and pettily trying to bite the hand resting on his shoulder.

Wonshik was desensitized completely to this type of behavior from his colleague, however, and artfully dodged the halfhearted attack. “Like I said. Back to his old self in no time.”

“What about you, Hakyeon-hyung?” Jaehwan asked, finally looking up from his notebook full of equations and sketches. “Did you have the dream last night again?”

“No, thankfully. I remembered to take my sleeping pills this time. No dreams the entire night.”

The reinforced door to the main lower laboratory chose that exact moment to his open, admitting the youngest two members of their group.

“Sorry we’re late,” Sanghyuk apologized, wheeling in two prepped gurneys, one in front of him, the other behind. “We were just briefing Sunyoung on a few things before we left the med center, and it took longer than planned now that we’re just down to one nurse. We’re here now, though!”

Hongbin followed right on his heels, wheeling in two IV stands, a med satchel slung over his shoulder. “We didn’t miss anything, did we?”

“Not if you don’t count Taekwoon trying to bite Wonshik again or Jaehwan coming up with a new hybrid design in the span of about forty-five minutes,” Hakyeon replied, going over to help Sanghyuk maneuver the gurneys around Honeysuckle’s terrarium. “Better late than never, though.” The three had stopped near another door at back of the room beside the rest of the supplies that had already been gathered. “Alright, inventory time. Do we have everything?”

Before anyone else could react, two pairs of identical ice blue eyes scanned Hongbin’s wrist-mounted persacom and glanced around at the assembled paraphernalia a few times before Hongbin and Sanghyuk nodded in unison. “It seems so,” Hongbin replied.

“Show-offs,” Jaehwan muttered, shelving his sketchbook and joining Taekwoon and Wonshik in walking over to complete their group.

Hakyeon paused for a moment to survey his team, finally fully assembled. Then he turned, took a deep, steadying breath, and placed his hand on the scanner beside the door to open it.

* * *

The room the scientists had jokingly dubbed “The Nursery” was large, but not at all spacious, given the amount of machinery that had been crammed into it, leaving only a walkway big enough for three people to walk abreast from one end to another. A myriad of screens and control panels lined the wall nearest the door, a steady stream of data flowing across each one. Meanwhile, eight cylindrical canisters lined the other three walls, each made of thick, magically-tempered glass that stretched from floor to ceiling. Six of the eight canisters were filled with thick, oxygen-and-carbon-dioxide-enriched, medicated perfluorocarbon. In each one of those filled canisters, there floated a humanoid body.

Hakyeon wandered over to the nearest canister on the wall opposite the door and placed a hand on the one-way glass, carefully tempered to let in only the bare minimum of light to the occupant while still allowing observers to view them. The material let off a pleasant warmth from the heated, pinkish-red fluid within that kept the subject at a consistent, comfortable temperature.

“Morning, Subject 12,” Hakyeon said softly to the canister’s occupant. Almost as if he could hear him, the creature’s eyes fluttered once, revealing a brief flash of muted, murky blue, before closing again. He drew in his long, lanky limbs closer to his body, sucking contently on his thumb as he slipped deeper into sedation-induced slumber, the shaggy strands of his bluish-purple hair floating gently in the liquid surrounding him. Hakyeon smiled softly, when a scoffing noise from his left made him turn. Jaehwan was also gazing at the hybrid, mouth twisted up in a wry grimace, and Hakyeon’s smile grew wider at the familiar expression, knowing exactly the thoughts that were almost certainly running through the geneticist’s head.

_(“I can’t believe it, hyung! All that time I spent painstakingly making sure their only set of teeth comes in flawlessly, **wasted** because this **brat** \- excuse me, ‘marvel of modern spellwork and genetic engineering’ - cannot keep his **thumb** out of his **mouth** for **five freaking minutes**! And it’s not as if we can fix it, either! Hongbin’s a doctor, not an orthodontist. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was **intentionally** trying to spite me.”) _

As if sensing Hakyeon’s train of thought, Jaehwan turned and met his eyes, rolling them once, his grimace smoothing out into a genuine smile. He gave a resigned shrug, patted the canister as well, and then turned back to the rest of their colleagues. Hakyeon quickly moved on to Subject 11’s canister, then Subject 10’s (he paused for a few moments to untangle one of 10’s limbs from one of the many electrode monitors attached to him with a simple telekinesis spell), before crossing the room to also briefly say his customary good morning to Subject 9. He then joined the rest of the scientists where they were congregated in front of Subject 7 and Subject 8’s canisters.

This was it. Their moment of truth. If their two oldest living experiments were able to be removed safely from their canisters and survive for an extended length of time out in the open, then the others would be in the clear as well, and the first phase of the Astro Project would have officially succeeded. If everything went well, then the other four would follow these two at a later date.

“How’s it looking Hongbin?” Hakyeon asked the doctor, who was busy punching buttons and throwing switches at the control panel.

“Just a minute more,” Hongbin murmured, not taking his eyes off the screens. “Just deactivating the chronal acceleration spell and double-checking the throughput before initiating the procedure.” 

“Take your time,” Hakyeon assured him. “There’s no rush.”

Glancing to his right, he saw Taekwoon chewing absently at his lower lip, a look of open anxiety on his face as he gazed at the two canisters and the precious contents within. Hakyeon’s heart went out to his friend, and he placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. “Don’t worry, Taekwoon,” he murmured. “We’ll do our best to get them out safely.”

“It’s not that,” Taekwoon replied, just as quietly, beginning to fiddle distractedly with the blue alkahest ring on his left index finger. “Well… not entirely. Just… what if… what if they don’t… _like_ me?” 

Hakyeon suppressed the sudden intense urge to laugh (oh boy, he really was stressed right now, wasn’t he) and answered as seriously as he could. “Taekwoon, there are six of them. If they turn out to be even capable of it, odds are pretty good that at least one of them will like you.”

“And even if they don’t… well, would that be such a bad thing?” Sanghyuk spoke up from where he was double-checking one of the IV stands that had been set up next to the gurneys. “It would be easier on everyone in the long run, considering.”

“Hyukkie, we’ve talked about this…” Hakyeon said, shooting the doctor a warning glare.

Sanghyuk raised his hands in a pacifying manner. “I know, I know, and I’m not disputing your logic, hyung. I’m just saying. Best not to get too attached.”

“Procedure initiated,” Hongbin announced before Hakyeon could reply, cutting off all further conversation. “Let’s move, Sanghyuk.”

“Right.”

The two doctors stepped forward as the suspension gel inside Subject 7’s tank began to drain. Working quickly and efficiently, they disconnected the myriad electrode monitors, IVs, needles, and tubes from the hybrid’s body, stashing them in the compartments in the top of the canister while the other four scientists looked on anxiously. Finally, the last of the fluid inside the canister drained away, and Subject 7 came to a rest at the bottom in a sitting position, slumped against the side wall of the canister like a doll, lank, shaggy blond hair plastered to his forehead and neck. As the front of the canister opened, the glass lowering into the ground, he was exposed to air for the first time, and his body began to shiver involuntarily. A sharp, sudden pain in his lower lip drew Hakyeon's attention to the fact he was biting his lip raw, and he forced himself to relax as much as he could.

The last of the glass disappeared into the ground. Subject 7’s limp body suddenly listed forward, his slick skin unable to find further purchase on the metal wall, and he began to fall out of the canister. Acting purely on instinct, Hakyeon lunged forward and caught him before he could hit the ground. He pulled the small, drenched, trembling form onto his lap, scrutinizing his pale skin frantically for any sign of adverse reaction to the air or his touch (_don’t think about Subject 4, do not, DO NOT_-), when he abruptly realized that the hybrid had yet to take a single breath.

Thinking fast, he flipped 7 onto his front, carefully supporting his neck and head, and gave him two quick, hard thumps on his back. 7 convulsed violently at the sudden percussive stimulation, and with a deep, heaving cough, fluid gushed from his mouth and nose as his body finally forcibly expelled the perfluorocarbon from his lungs.

“That’s it, little one,” Hakyeon murmured encouragingly, holding the hybrid close and soothingly running his hand up and down his back as he continued to cough and gag and gasp, desperately trying to fill his lungs with his first breaths of air. “That’s it, just breathe, you’re doing great, you’re such a good boy, come on, breathe, just breathe, you can do it.”

Hakyeon continued to croon encouraging nothings to the creature as he accepted a towel from Taekwoon, and the two began wiping him down. Once he was mostly dry, Taekwoon wrapped the little hybrid in a large towel, and, somewhat reluctantly, Hakyeon relinquished him into Taekwoon’s hold. Noticing Hakyeon’s reluctance, the alchemist gave his hand a brief squeeze before he took the hybrid into his arms fully and stood, lifting him onto the nearest prepped gurney as Jaehwan stood close by with a face mask and small oxygen tank. Sanghyuk immediately inserted an IV into one of the ports implanted in 7’s arms, delivering a dose of vitamins, nutrients, and more sedatives into his bloodstream to keep him unconscious as Jaehwan slipped the oxygen mask over his mouth and nose.

That done, Sanghyuk and Taekwoon wheeled the gurney out into the larger, more well-lit main laboratory to bandage up the numerous small wounds all the needles and tubes had made in 7’s skin. Jaewhan trailed close behind, still monitoring the hybrid’s raspy breathing to make sure he was getting both enough oxygen and CO2.

“Well,” Hongbin observed as Wonshik helped Hakyeon to his feet and handed him a fresh towel so he could dry himself off. “That could have gone much, much worse. Ready for round two?”

* * *

Removing Subject 8 went a bit smoother, all things considered. This time, they were prepared, and the second hybrid collapsed neatly into Wonshik’s waiting arms, promptly coughing up the fluid in his lungs without needing any extra encouragement. Hakyeon got him bundled into a towel of his own, and Wonshik delicately laid him on the second gurney, where he was also hooked up to an IV and wheeled out into the main lab. The next hour or so was a blur of activity as the two sedated hybrids were put through as thorough a physical as the scientists could manage outside the facility’s med center, before their nails and hair were given a quick trim and their creators dressed them in simple, white pajama scrubs.

“Okay, and…” Hongbin was muttering, standing by Subject 8’s bedside and glancing over the information he’d accumulated into his persacom before scanning his prone form head to toe with the device. “I have 160 centimeters for this one. What about you, Sanghyuk?”

“161 centimeters,” Sanghyuk replied from over Subject 7’s bedside.

“They’re so… small,” murmured Taekwoon, lightly brushing a fingertip over a lock of Subject 8’s damp, salmon-colored hair. “I never realized how small they were until now; we only ever saw them in their canisters. It’s hard to believe they won’t ever get any bigger.” He glanced over at Hakyeon. “Are we sure they won’t?”

“Pretty sure. Unless Hakyeon-hyung programmed a surprise growth spurt to kick off in a few months to screw with us,” Sanghyuk said, setting aside his persacom. 

“Every single day I thank the heavens that molecular genetics is not your forte, Han Sanghyuk.”

“So… that’s a no, then?”

The only thing that saved their youngest from the retaliatory neck chop swiftly headed in his direction was Hongbin’s deep voice interjecting itself into the conversation. “Well, taking into account how long they were under the effects of the chronal acceleration spell, both of them have already reached full physical maturity. Subject 9 should have as well, though Subjects 10, 11, and 12 probably still have some growing to do, the latter two especially.” He clicked off his persacom and set it aside to join Sanghyuk’s. “Alright, so, with all the measurements out of the way, there’s just one thing left to do.”

Hongbin walked over to Subject 7’s bedside and flipped him onto his front, staring intently at a spot on the back of his neck. The lenses in his eyes spun and flared a vivid, cybernetic neon before fading back to their usual blue. He repeated the same process with Subject 8. “Well, the control chips _look_ like they’re still where we put them eight months ago. Time to see if they actually work as Chaerin advertised. Would you like to do the honors, hyungs?” He glanced between Hakyeon and Jaehwan with a small but genuine smile.

The two geneticists exchanged a surprised look before slowly stepping forward, Hakyeon to 7’s bedside, Jaehwan to 8’s. Hakyeon gripped the side of 7’s gurney tightly to steady himself, as he looked down at the prone form of their creation. After clearing his throat, he stated, in a slow, clear voice, “Subject number: 7. Code: jackpot, sienna, mallard, diurnalis. Authorization: Cha Hakyeon. Clearance: beta, iota, chi, 052412-0630. Directive: initiate startup sequence.”

Without missing a beat, Jaewhan said, “Subject number: 8. Code: signpost, viridian, mouse, nocturnus. Authorization: Lee Jaehwan. Clearance: beta, iota, chi, 052412-0406. Directive: initiate startup sequence.”

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, two of six small screens on the far wall flickered to life, displaying the two hybrids’ vital stats, as well as a location tracker pinpointing their exact whereabouts in the facility. Hakyeon grinned, wide and relieved, the expression mirrored by his friends. They still weren’t out of the woods, not yet, there were so, _so_ many other things that could still go horribly wrong… but they were getting there. For the first time that day, Hakyeon allowed himself to relax slightly.

* * *

A couple hours later, however, Hakyeon was anything but relaxed. After their physicals, each of the hybrids had been placed into two of the small supply closets installed in the depths of the laboratory to finish sleeping off the last of their sedation. The rooms had been emptied and outfitted with a sleeping pallet at the far end and a camera installed in the ceiling so the scientists could keep a close eye on the occupants from a safe distance in their main laboratory. So far, though, neither of their creations showed any sign of waking, and the scientists were getting antsy.

“I wonder if they’re getting enough oxygen,” fretted Jaehwan for the fifth time, leg vibrating impatiently as he spun back and forth in one of the laboratory’s chairs next to Taekwoon, who was distractedly tapping out another random piano melody on the desk beside him. Jaehwan had run out of pages in his sketchbook, and had resorted to talking out his frustrations. “Air is so different from gel. What if their lungs are having trouble acclimating to the new medium? I quadruple checked the genetic blueprints, everything looked fine, but everything’s looked fine before, and we all know how our previous attempts turned out, how do we know that-?”

“Jaehwan, for the last time, _calm down_,” Hakyeon finally snapped, his patience finally worn down to a frayed thread. “They’re not coughing or wheezing, and their heart rates are at acceptable levels. If they don’t wake up in another hour, we’ll go in and check on them, but until then, let’s not assume the absolute worst, okay? We’re all stressed out enough as it is.”

“Sorry,” the younger man muttered contritely, looking down at the floor. “Sorry, I just… I can’t stop thinking about… I can’t…”

“Hey.” Hakyeon rolled his chair over to Jaehwan’s and enfolded him in his arms. It said a lot about the geneticist’s current frame of mind that he didn’t offer up even a token protest and simply melted into Hakyeon’s embrace. “I get it. All of us do. But we’ve made it this far. Don’t psyche yourself out this close to the finish line, okay?” He tried to interject as much confidence as he could in his tone, as if he believed it enough and said it enough, it would come true.

“Whatever happens happens,” Taekwoon added, patting Jaehwan on the back. “And we’ll deal with it when the time comes. Together. Just like we always have.”

Jaehwan nodded against Hakyeon’s shoulder, exhaled loudly, and then leaned back, smiling bravely at the rest of them. “You’re right, hyungs. Thanks for reminding me. Just…” He grimaced comically. “Someone talk about something else, please, my brain’s driving me crazy, and I can’t take much more.”

“Gladly, if you all are done being sappy.” Sanghyuk propped his long legs up on a desk, blithely ignoring Hakyeon’s disapproving glare. “Actually, we needed to talk about this, so now’s a good a time as any, I guess. So, I’m assuming you guys haven’t heard about the new law that was just passed? I only looked at the newsfeed yesterday, but the whole country’s been in an uproar for at least a week.”

  
  
“We’ve all been kind of preoccupied the last couple of days, Sanghyuk, in case you haven’t noticed,” Hongbin said with a flat look, before his brow suddenly contorted and a look of dawning realization came over his face. “Wait… does it have anything to do with how Victoria just up and resigned earlier this week?”

“Yup, that’d be the reason. So apparently, the long and short of it is that our wise and esteemed government has given every Chinese employee working in the country on a visa approximately three months to get their affairs in order and leave before they’re forcibly booted out. Same applies to students. Not sure about immigrants or citizens of Chinese descent, though, I only had time to look at a couple articles. So, looks like Victoria got while the getting was good, since we won’t get another supply transport out here until next month. Which means we’ll either have to limp along with just one nurse in the med center for the foreseeable future, or we’ll have to have Director Hwang find us a new one.”

A general air of unease pervaded the room at this. Taekwoon, surprisingly, was the first to finally speak up. “Tensions are already that bad?” he said softly. “Yixing sent me a wave just a few days ago, and he didn’t mention anything about this.”

  
  
“Well, he wouldn’t would he?” Sanghyuk replied. “He works at a Korean government research facility, surrounded by Korean scientists, and communicates using Korean wave frequencies. Would _you_ go around a Chinese facility complaining to all your Chinese coworkers about how much you disagree with their government’s foreign policies?”

“Plus, no offence to your friend, Taekwoon, but he’s probably the _last_ person I’d go to when trying to get objective information about international relations,” Wonshik interjected from his perch over by the camera monitors. “He may be one of the world’s foremost authorities on life magic, but he’s not exactly what you’d call ‘well-grounded.’ He’d forget what day of the week it was if he didn’t have Luhan around to remind him, or so Jongin tells me. Which, according to this news, may not be for much longer.”

“We don’t know that,” Hakyeon said stubbornly, determined to look on the bright side. “This could all blow over in a few weeks. Diplomatic relations were supposed to be getting better with China, not worse. Did they say what prompted this move in the newsfeeds, Sanghyuk?”

“Some scandal with a big Chinese corporation that apparently got the government’s feathers ruffled,” the younger man replied, shrugging. “They’re keeping a tight lid on any details.”

“Guys…” Wonshik interjected faintly.

“I’m more concerned about the fact that this means we’ll be losing Junhui and Minghao from the security team, too, not just Victoria,” Jaehwan said worriedly. “We’re short-staffed around here as it is, and people willing to come and work out in the middle of a Blight-zone are few and far between.”

“Guys!” Everyone’s heads whipped around at the sound of Wonshik’s sharp shout. He pointed at the monitor. “7’s awake.”

The rest of the scientists immediately broke off their conversation, all thought of politics forgotten, and a small stampede ensued as they crowded around the monitor.

Sure enough, the small, blond hybrid had finally opened his eyes, and was blinking owlishly at his new surroundings in clear confusion, squinting against the unfiltered brightness of the light fixtures in the room. As the scientists watched, he slowly, laboriously reached out a hand and placed it on the floor. His eyes grew wide at the temperature difference between his warm pallet and the linoleum, and he snatched his hand away, hiding it back under the blanket covering him with comical swiftness. However, his curiosity got the best of him, and he tentatively reached out and touched the floor again, running his hand over the smooth linoleum repeatedly, as if fascinated by its texture.

After a minute or so, he appeared to tire of this, and methodically wriggled out from under his blanket, grunting with exertion. Elation filled Hakyeon at the sight. None of the scientists had really known if their creations would be energetic enough to be ambulatory to any significant degree, given how their lungs and hemoglobin had to process and metabolize both CO2 and oxygen instead of just oxygen like normal creatures, but it seemed that their concerns had been unfounded.

Once he was halfway out from under his blanket, 7 pushed himself up onto his elbows… and immediately fell flat on his face, his arms unable to support his weight. The scientists all gave a collective gasp of alarm at this, but their trepidation quickly turned to relief as the little hybrid lifted his head and, undaunted, attempted to lift himself up again.

It took him numerous failed attempts to even manage to hold himself in a kneeling position, but 7 finally succeeded. He held himself there for a minute or so as he deliberated what to do next, wavering slightly and breathing hard. His muscles clearly strained to hold up his weight, which was to be expected, as he’d never really used them before. The scientists had done their best to keep their creations’ muscles from atrophying entirely while their bodies grew and developed in their canisters through the use of electrode needles and copious supplements, but that still wasn’t a substitute for actual exercise, especially for Subject 7, who had been in there ten whole months, longer than any of the other hybrids. This was painfully evident by how clumsy and uncoordinated the creature was as he lurched and flailed around in his dogged attempt to explore his new environment, like a baby learning to crawl. Which, technically, he sort of was.

“Determined little guy, isn’t he?” Wonshik observed, as 7 fell flat on his face yet again.

“I’ll say,” Hongbin said incredulously. “I’m getting tired just looking at him.”

Subject 8, meanwhile, was still sound asleep.

“Just how much of that sedative did you give him, Sanghyuk?” Jaehwan asked skeptically, eyeing the second monitor displaying the snoozing hybrid.

“They got equal injections, thank you very much,” Sanghyuk replied, looking offended that someone would even think to question his anesthesiologist skills. “Maybe Subject 8 just likes sleeping.”

“That could be it,” Taekwoon said absently, not taking his eyes off the monitor that showed 7 still blundering around like an uncoordinated kitten. “8 and 10 _were_ always the ones who stayed in stasis the most.”

“Well, given that 7’s come out of sedation and seems to be acclimating nicely to his new environment, I vote we start the first behavioral experiment before he ends up giving himself a concussion.” Hongbin’s words were punctuated by the hybrid losing his balance and toppling over onto his side, prompting a wince from most of the scientists.

“Good plan.” Sanghyuk grabbed a commlink earpiece from the desk and tossed it in Hakyeon’s direction, who caught it on instinct. “Alright, you’re up, hyung. Yell if you need backup.”

* * *

Hakyeon traversed the austere, white hallways of the lower laboratory in record time until he reached supply closet door that 7 was behind. Pausing, he hooked the commlink over his ear and switched it on, trying to calm the flock of butterflies that had suddenly taken up residence in his stomach. “Hello? This thing on?”

“Reading you loud and clear, leader-nim,” came Jaehwan’s chipper voice over the earpiece. “We’re ready when you are.”

Hakyeon took a deep breath, closed his eyes for exactly three seconds… and then opened the door and stepped through it.

Wide, guileless, hazel eyes met his, and the tidal wave of wonder, joy, and sheer, overwhelming _panic_ that hit Hakyeon nearly knocked him over. The first thought that leaped into his head was, _This is the first time I’ve seen what color his eyes ar_e. (Which was absurd, really; he’d designed those eyes. So why did it feel like such a revelation seeing them for the first time?) This thought was followed swiftly by, _Why oh **why** did we have to make them look so convincingly **human**?_

As if his body was somehow on autopilot, Hakyeon found himself standing directly in front of the hybrid, who still hadn’t moved from his sitting position on the floor, gazing up at him curiously, not a trace of fear in those bright, curious eyes. Hakyeon crouched down, and the two regarded each other for a long, pregnant moment. Then, Hakyeon spoke.

“Hello, little one.”

The creature cocked his head to one side at the sound of Hakyeon’s voice and made a chirring sound high in his throat. He resembled an inquisitive puppy so much that Hakyeon simply couldn’t resist it any longer. Ready to pull away at the first sign of aggression, he tentatively reached out, making sure 7 could see his every movement, and gently ran his fingers through shaggy, soft, golden hair.

7’s large eyes went even wider at the sensation, but he didn’t seem afraid or hostile, so Hakyeon did it again. Then again. The third time, the hybrid leaned fully into the touch, his face breaking into a wide, toothy grin, hazel eyes crinkling up into happy crescents, and something inside Hakyeon chest wrenched, twisted, _melted_.

_They can smile. Oh God, they can **smile**. _

Involuntary tears sprang to Hakyeon’s eyes, and he had to take a couple moments to re-compartmentalize his emotions before he could manage to do or say anything else. 7 insistently nuzzling his hand, clearly demanding more pets, brought him back to reality, and he gave a hoarse, breathy laugh, obliging the creature.

“We nearly gave up before you came along, you know.” 7 blinked and gave a rolling little trill, and Hakyeon couldn’t suppress a smile. “Oh yes. Sad, but true. You can only fail horribly so many times before it starts to take a toll on you.” He sighed, old, half-healed wounds in his heart twinging painfully, before he continued. “But then Jaehwannie was taking a walk in the greenhouses one day. He saw that one of the chrysanthemums had sprouted under a tree, and wasn’t getting as much sunlight as the others. But instead of withering away, it was still growing, trying to reach the sun even though it was out if its reach. And, he thought, if a flower could keep persevering even though all the odds were against it, then surely we could try one more time, too. So we did, and you were the result. As for that chrysanthemum…” Hakyeon brushed a blond, wavy lock of hair out of the hybrid’s face, and briefly cupped one of his round, rosy cheeks in his palm. “It became half of you.”

“Ugh, come on, hyung, why must you make it sound so _sappy_?” Jaehwan said over his earpiece, sounding embarrassed but also more than slightly emotional. “And you do know he can’t actually understand you, right?” 

“You talk to Honeysuckle and Snapdragon all the time,” Hakyeon countered as 7’s curiosity got the best of him, and he started to crawl closer to the scientist. “Let me have this.”

Jaehwan grumbled something unintelligible under his breath, but didn’t protest further.

“Um… what is he doing?” Wonshik suddenly asked, sounding concerned.

7 had noticed something in Hakyeon’s labcoat pocket, having caught a brief flash of something bright red, and was grabbing for it, making little inquisitive noises all the while. Hakyeon laughed and pulled his stress ball out of his pocket obligingly. “Being curious, apparently. Which is a very good sign.”

He held the soft stress ball out to 7 to test what his reaction would be. 7 gazed in fascination at its vivid red color and tried to take it from him. However, his fingers were still babyishly clumsy, and he ended up fumbling it, sending the toy rolling across the floor. Before Hakyeon could even react, 7 was off like a shot, scrambling after it. As he reached out to try to grab the ball, he ended up whacking it further across the floor, and soon, he was batting it all around the room like a cat chasing a string.

Hakyeon simply sat back on his heels and watched the show, his friends’ chuckles echoing in his ears and warmth filling his heart. Very quickly, however, 7’s energy started to flag, and he finally came to a halt on the floor, wavering in place for a few seconds before he simply slumped to the ground with a tiny, tired groan. 

“Poor little thing,” cooed Taekwoon over the commlink. “He’s all worn out.”

  
“Can’t say I’m surprised,” murmured Hakyeon, gently scooping the hybrid up (_light, he was so **light**_) and carrying him back to the pallet. 7 didn’t resist at all, and was asleep almost as soon as Hakyeon laid him down. “He’s had a very exciting day.”

The geneticist covered 7 back up with the blanket, tucked it securely around his shoulders, and couldn’t resist stroking a hand over the creature’s soft hair once more. “Sweet dreams, our lucky number 7.”

“Well,” Hongbin said as Hakyeon got to his feet, sounding _very_ pleased. “I think I speak for everyone when I say that went better than probably anyone dared to hope.”

“I’ll say,” Jaehwan said, positively jubilant. “We got so much data just from that one interaction, this is so exciting! Oh, by the way, hyung, Subject 8 woke up while 7 was playing. Just thought you should know.”

“What?!” Hakyeon immediately clapped his hand over his mouth and backpedaled as fast as he could out of the supply closet, mentally kicking himself all the way for being so careless. As soon as he closed the door behind him, he glared heatedly at the wall, speaking in as low a tone as he could manage while still conveying his displeasure. “He woke up? And you didn’t _tell_ me?”

“Would you have left even if we did tell you?” Sanghyuk asked pointedly.

“…Touché. But still, I’d have liked to know!”

“We’re sorry, Hakyeon,” Taekwoon said, _sounding_ sincere if nothing else. “But you looked so happy that we didn’t want to distract you or pull you away prematurely.” 

“I guess I’ll forgive you eventually,” Hakyeon grumbled, mollified but still just a smidge annoyed. “So, I take it since you all don’t seem on the verge of panic that Subject 8 is alright so far?”

“Seems like it,” Wonshik confirmed. “Definitely nowhere near as energetic as Subject 7, though. All he’s done so far is lie there under the blanket and look around the room. Hasn’t even sat up.”

“Hm. Let’s hope that means he’s just tired and not anything more serious,” Hakyeon said, stepping further down the hall to the adjacent supply closet. As before, he took a deep breath to steady his nerves, and then turned the doorknob to let himself in.

Eyes the color of a cloudless winter sky were the first things he saw as he stepped into the room, and the jolt of overpowering awe, terror, and joy that ripped through him was no less powerful than the one he’d felt previously with Subject 7. Forcing himself to move closer, Hakyeon sat down a couple paces away from Subject 8’s pallet and waited to see what the small hybrid would do.

As Hakyeon had approached, the placid look in 8’s blue, blue eyes sharpened into intense curiosity. When the scientist crouched down, he pushed himself into a sitting position with considerably less effort than 7 had, only wobbling once in the process. Hakyeon still instinctively reached out to steady him, and as he did so, 8’s eyes darted to his outstretched hand. Hakyeon froze, unsure of how to proceed… and then 8 reached out and touched a finger to his, and Hakyeon’s heart skipped multiple beats.

8 curled his other hand around Hakyeon’s and pulled it closer, meticulously investigating every ridge, wrinkle, vein, and scar on it, seeming especially fascinated by the difference in their size and skin tones. Hakyeon hardly even dared to breathe the entire time, holding himself as still as he possibly could so as not to startle or spook the hybrid.

After 8 had explored every square inch of Hakyeon’s hand, he then slowly, deliberately proceeded to crawl out of his bed and over to the man, making the same inquisitive chirring noises Subject 7 had. The geneticist was again struck by just how much calmer and more coordinated 8 was than 7. And then every single train of thought in Hakyeon’s head promptly ground to a screeching halt, because 8 chose that exact moment to _crawl right into his lap_.

The small hybrid gave a satisfied trill as he settled on Hakyeon’s lap and leaned fully into the warmth of his chest, nuzzling his head under his chin with a deep, content sigh.

“Well, hello to you, too, little guy,” Hakyeon said with a breathless chuckle, arms coming up reflexively to wrap around the creature. 8 hummed serenely in response and nestled deeper into his embrace, and some deep, primal part of Hakyeon’s hindbrain that he’d been trying very, _very_ hard to keep in check finally roared fully to life. He’d made this. He’d _made_ this. He’d made this small, unique, trusting, incredible little being, and it was _warm_, and _alive_, and _his_, his his _his_, and the sudden rush of fierce, protective, exhilarating _love_ that filled his heart at this realization took his breath away.

However, amidst the intense, chaotic, euphoric whirlwind of wonderment and delight and overwhelming affection taking up the majority of his thoughts, a remaining small part of his mind that liked to call itself rational was yelling things about objectivity and emotional compromisation in a tone that sounded suspiciously like Hongbin’s. He did his best to ignore it.

“Now would be a good time to start preventing attachment, hyung.” Speak of the devil…

“We want them to like at least _some_ of us, Hongbin,” Hakyeon replied, waving the younger scientist off. He was suddenly very glad of the fact that his back was to the camera. “It’ll make our job much easier in the long run.”

“_Our_ job, maybe,” Sanghyuk said in a knowing tone of voice. The kid really was far too perceptive for his own good sometimes. Brat. “What about yours, hyung?”

“You don’t have to worry about me, Sanghyuk,” Hakyeon said firmly, reflexively tightening his arms around 8, who at some point had dropped off to sleep again. “I knew what this project entailed when I proposed it. I’ll do what has to be done. Haven’t I always?”

“You have,” Wonshik rumbled. “It’s just... you got so emotionally invested in these things, hyung. We don’t want you to get hurt.”

Hakyeon let out a long breath, glancing down at the head of coral-colored hair resting against his chest. “We _made_ them, Wonshikkie. I’d be more worried if we _weren’t_ emotionally invested in them to some extent. I won’t let that stop me from doing what needs to be done, but that also means I’m not going to just let them languish alone in a cage for the rest of their lives, especially now that it’s clear they’re capable of responding to outside stimuli and consciously interacting with their environment. ‘These things’ are our responsibility, and deserve to be treated with as much kindness as we can give them. If that means a little pain on my part at some point, then so be it.”

Taekwoon of all people broke the subsequent moment of silence, voice firmer than most ever heard it. “Well said, Hakyeon.”

Hongbin sighed, and Hakyeon could just picture the eyeroll that undoubtedly accompanied it. “I guess I can’t really argue with that, either. Just… they’re not pets, guys. And as much as they may look it, they’re not human, either.”

“Look, we get it,” Jaehwan said impatiently. “Don’t be stereotypical mad scientists, also don’t anthropomorphize the lab rats. Can we move on now?”

“Right to the point as always, Jaehwannie,” Hakyeon smiled, dropping his head to rest his cheek against the crown of 8’s head. A subtle, light, sweet fragrance mixed with a smell reminiscent of fresh greenery filled his nose, which he would recognize anywhere as the scent of a gladiolus. Which meant… The scientist jerked back in delighted surprise.

“Jaehwan!”

“Uh… yeah?”

“It worked! It actually worked!”

“Wh-?”

“He smells like his flower, Jaehwan! I _told_ you incorporating the essential oil enzymes into the apocrine glands would produce that effect! Did I call it, or did I call it?”

A longsuffering, tolerant sigh. “You called it, hyung. I stand corrected. Of course, if it turns out I was right about the photoreceptor intensity…”

“Yes, yes, you’ll have called it, I will gladly concede,” Hakyeon chuckled. A few seconds of comfortable silence passed, broken only by 8’s soft snores.

“So, you coming back up, hyung?” Sanghyuk asked. “We have a lot of data to go over while those two sleep their workout routines off.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll be just a moment, guys.” Hakyeon supposed he _should_ probably move Subject 8 back to his bed and leave… but he couldn’t resist holding his creation just a _little_ bit longer. He’d waited years for just the possibility of having this moment, after all. He wanted to savor it, the excitement and wonder of it all. Nothing quite like their creations had ever existed before. In just the few minutes he’d spent with them, he could already tell that their two eldest were very different from each other, each with his own unique personality. He wondered if the remaining four would continue that trend. As he bowed his head and briefly laid his cheek atop 8’s head again, breathed in another lungful of his gentle, sweet scent, he decided he was very much looking forward to finding out.

* * *

_ **Notes:** _

_\- Disclaimer: I am in no way an authority on medicine or science; while I did as much research as I could for authenticity, most of the terms in this fic are grade A technobabble._

_\- Yes, there is actually an in-story reason why Astro's eldest hyungs are considerably shorter than their official heights, no, it’s not just because it makes them easier to pick up and tuck under someone’s arm like a sack of flour. :P_

_\- PSA, Astro’s going to look like they're their pre-debut ages for a good chunk of this fic (approximately how they looked in their [Trainee Funk video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWpXehiV_Co) if you want a visual aid), but they’ll have their All Night hair colors/styles._

_\- [<strike>MJ</strike>/Subject 7](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ea/79/c9/ea79c93c8afb9e4c9418dbf135bbd519.jpg) was crossed with a [yellow chrysanthemum](https://images.fineartamerica.com/images/artworkimages/mediumlarge/1/-a-yellow-chrysanthemum-symbolizes-slighted-love-debra-miller.jpg). Chrysanthemums symbolize concepts like friendship, familial support, cheerfulness and optimism, rest and recovery after a long trial or challenge, life and rebirth (especially the birth of a child), and loyalty and devotion. Yellow chrysanthemums can also symbolize neglected love or sorrow._

_\- [<strike>Jinjin</strike>/Subject 8](https://66.media.tumblr.com/929591c6a673a51c8bafaaaddec4120b/tumblr_plw85ywQtQ1spxgepo2_1280.jpg) was crossed with a [salmon-colored gladiolus](https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/372730477421_/Gladiolo-salmon-Gladiolus-20-semillas-de-flores.jpg). The gladiolus flower symbolizes honor and remembrance, but can also symbolize strength of character, faithfulness, sincerity, integrity, infatuation, and perseverance._


	2. Settling In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took some doing, but I finally was able to get this chapter out before Astro's new comeback! _(:'3」∠)_ Who else is super stoked to finally see our boys again after so long? :'D

The hybrids slept for almost six hours straight, during which time the scientists busied themselves going over the data they’d collected from the first cursory physical and Hakyeon’s first interaction with them. It was decided that once the two woke, they’d be left to their own devices for a little while longer, just to see how they reacted to Hakyeon’s sudden absence, and then be introduced to each other under the head scientist’s careful supervision. If it turned out the hybrids were capable of peaceful coexistence, then Hakyeon, Taekwoon, and Sanghyuk would escort them to the med center afterwards for a complete and thorough checkup. If not, they’d be brought one at a time.

Finally, the hybrids woke up, 8 first this time, followed by 7 about half an hour later. Both seemed quite confused to find themselves alone again. 7 paced around and around his supply closet, while 8 simply crawled over to the door and curled up beside it, as if waiting for Hakyeon to return. As time wore on, the hybrids continued to appear perfectly stable, if also very listless and bored.

“Hyung…” Wonshik leaned closer to 8’s monitor in open concern. “Is he… _crying_?”

The other scientists crowded around worriedly. Sure enough, big, glistening tears steadily trickled down the creature’s cheeks from his curled position on the floor, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Hakyeon was suddenly extremely grateful they hadn’t installed speakers in the closets along with the cameras. After a couple minutes of watching their hybrid miserably weep to himself, Hakyeon finally couldn’t take it anymore.

“Change of plans,” he announced. “I’m going down there. We’ve got all the data I think we’ll need, so there’s no point in prolonging this further. Taekwoon, Sanghyuk, follow me in about ten minutes. The rest of you can go prep the med center.”

That no one even attempted to contradict his decision was quite telling.

* * *

Subject 8’s sobs became audible as Hakyeon approached his door, and this time, he didn’t even hesitate when he opened it. Teary, reddened eyes stared up at him in disbelief and then relief as Hakyeon bent down to gather the small hybrid into his arms. 8 immediately latched onto him with every limb he possessed, clinging to him tightly and burying his face in Hakyeon’s shoulder, whining low in his throat. 

“Hey, no need for that,” Hakyeon chided gently, leaning back to wipe 8’s eyes and nose with the handkerchief he’d brought along. “Everything’s fine, little one, it’s okay.”

A hiccup was his only response. The second 8’s face was wiped clean, he immediately planted it right back into Hakyeon’s shoulder with another plaintive whine. Hakyeon sighed and ran his hands up and down 8’s back comfortingly. “Shh, it’s alright, little one. Sorry you had to wait so long. I’m here now. Everything’s fine.”

As Hakyeon continued to speak soothingly to the creature, he gradually calmed and his octopus grip on Hakyeon’s torso became a little less constricting.

“There now.” He patted 8’s back one last time and withdrew a little so he could see his face, not wanting him to fall asleep again quite yet. Smiling encouragingly, he said, “Feeling better?”

8’s face was still blotchy from crying, but he seemed remarkably less upset now, and mirrored Hakyeon’s expression, blinking up at him, slow and relaxed. He gave a little chirrup and tried to snuggle back into Hakyeon’s chest, but the chirrup turned into a startled yelp as Hakyeon smoothly stood, the hybrid held securely in his arms like a toddler. As he looked around in wonder, taking in the sights from this new, unfamiliar height, Hakyeon smiled fondly.

“We’re going to go see your brother now,” he said, shifting his grip a little so that 8 was resting comfortably on his hip. “Doesn’t that sound fun?”

Another slow, confused blink.

“Mmm, I thought so. Off we go, then!”

* * *

7 gave a pleased cry the moment the door to his room opened, and Hakyeon suddenly found himself almost tripping over the small form that had darted over to latch tightly onto one of his legs. “Woah!” he exclaimed, laughing breathlessly while trying to keep a firm hold of 8 and still stay standing. “Okay, too close, let’s spread out just a bit.”

With that, Hakyeon gently pushed 7 away with his magic halfway across the room to give himself space to set 8 down. The blond hybrid gave a confused squeak as he slid across the floor, and tried to scramble back to Hakyeon’s side… but he stopped short when he saw the small figure held in the scientist’s arms, blue eyes meeting hazel. Cautiously, Hakyeon bent down and deposited the suddenly very still 8 on the floor, and stepped back a couple paces, watching the proceedings like a hawk, ready to leap into action should the need arise.

The two hybrids stared at each other for a few very long moments, before 7 began to crawl forward, slower than Hakyeon had ever seen him move before. 8 mirrored his movements, and they met in the middle of the floor. Another moment of silence passed… and then 7 reached out, grabbed a lock of 8’s vivid, pinkish-orange hair, and brought it – and by extension 8’s head – nearer to his face so he could look at it more closely, making little interested noises all the while. 8 yelped instinctually and lurched forward to take the pressure off his scalp, stopping just shy of cracking their foreheads together. He didn’t seem to be scared or in actual pain, though, which was the only thing preventing Hakyeon from immediately separating them as 7 busied himself with obsessively scrutinizing the unfamiliar color and texture of his brother’s hair like it was the most fascinating thing he’d ever seen in his short life (and it likely was, Hakyeon had to admit). After a few seconds of this, 8, who had endured the poking and prodding with the patience of a saint up until this point, evidently decided he'd had enough, and chose to communicate this by sticking out his tongue and sloppily licking 7’s cheek.

7 let go of his hair with a startled squeak and lurched backwards, eyes comically round. 8 simply stared back at him serenely, a mischievous glint deep in his blue eyes. A slow, answering grin spread over 7’s face, and without warning he launched himself at the other hybrid, and the two went rolling across the floor as 7 tried to lick 8’s cheek in retaliation, both of them laughing and chattering away at each other in something that sounded… unsettlingly like baby talk. Which was all sorts of disconcerting coming out of the vocal cords of creatures who both looked and sounded like teenage boys. But if Hakyeon ignored that aspect of it, the sight of the two little hybrids play fighting with each other was criminally adorable. He wished he had an imager to capture the moment. 

The hybrids finally tired of their game, and sat, panting, side by side on the floor, grinning at each other like they were already the best of friends and holding hands companionably. Hakyeon had the distinct urge to clap a hand over his heart and coo at the top of his lungs. Through some monumental effort, he restrained himself.

“Hakyeon?” came Taekwoon’s soft voice from outside the door. “Is everything okay in there?”

“Fine, Taekwoon,” he answered as 7 and 8 looked over and up at him in surprise, almost as if they suddenly remembered he was still there. They crawled over to him as he spoke again. “Has it been ten minutes already?”

“Fifteen, actually,” came Sanghyuk’s voice.

“Are they getting along okay?” Taekwoon added, and Hakyeon couldn’t suppress a smile at the open worry in his friend’s voice as he bent down to place a hand on each of the hybrids’ heads as they reached him and tugged at his legs, clamoring for his attention.

“Why don’t you come in and see?”

The door to the closet slowly inched open, and Taekwoon tentatively poked his head in. “Where are…? Oh,” he breathed, as he caught sight of them, his eyes shining. At the unfamiliar sound, both hybrids leaned closer to Hakyeon, and Taekwoon’s face fell as they appeared to shrink away from him.

“Don’t worry, Taekwoon,” Hakyeon said encouragingly. “You just startled them a little is all. Just give them a moment. And _smile_.”

Taekwoon obediently did so, squatting down and holding out a hand to them invitingly. Sure enough, after he’d gotten over his initial shock, 7 crawled forward to investigate, 8 only a few paces behind. 7 reached up and tried to grab at Taekwoon’s silvery-white hair, while 8 took hold of the alchemist’s hand, pulled it into his lap, and immediately began to play with his rings. “Delighted” did not even begin to describe Taekwoon’s expression; he looked as utterly smitten as Hakyeon had felt upon first interacting with them earlier that day.

“Well, it looks like we didn’t have to worry about them getting along with anyone,” Sanghyuk stated wryly from the doorway.

“Don’t you want to say hi, too, Sanghyuk?” Hakyeon asked as the hybrids gazed up at the tall, broad-shouldered form in unabashed awe.

Sanghyuk took a few steps back, hands held up in front of him like a shield. “Hey, you guys want to get cuddly with the sprouts, that’s fine; I’m just here as backup in case you need a doctor, that’s it.” He eyed Subject 7, who had finally stopped trying to yank Taekwoon bald and crawled over to him, staring up at him with what was quickly becoming his trademark toothy grin. He took a step back. 7 followed. Another step. 7 scooted forward again. “Uh… a little help, hyungs?”

“Oh, but Sanghyuk!” Hakyeon exclaimed, clapping his hands together and trying to keep from smiling _too_ widely. He swooped in and lifted 7 into his arms, setting him onto his feet where he wobbled unsteadily, almost falling until Hakyeon took hold of his hands to help stabilize him. “We still need to teach them to walk! You wouldn’t mind volunteering as an assistant, would you? Come on, 7, time to go get Hyukkie! Time to go get him!”

“You stay away from me, you maniac! And stop laughing, Taekwoon-hyung, don’t encourage this!”

* * *

After order was eventually restored (and Sanghyuk had accepted his fate), the scientists took their time accompanying their creations to the med center, their walking progress slow but steady. 8 proved to be the faster learner, and had almost gotten to the point where he could walk more than fifteen steps without having to grab onto Taekwoon’s hand or shirt once they reached their destination. 7, while enthusiastic about the process, had a tendency to get overexcited and let his feet outpace his legs, and kept tripping over himself as a result. He’d only narrowly escaped an actual concussion because of Hakyeon’s fast reflexes, but whenever Hakyeon got too concerned and just tried to hold and walk with him for awhile, he wriggled and squirmed impatiently to get him to put him down again. However, he could still stand without trouble now, which was definite improvement.

As the small group emerged into the large room that led to the med center, horticulture labs, and greenhouses, Subject 7 caught sight of a flash of lush, vivid green through the far glass door, and immediately made a beeline for it, closely followed by 8.

“Not so fast, kiddo,” Hakyeon said mildly, catching 7 around the waist and carrying him the rest of the way to the med center as Taekwoon mirrored his actions with 8. “You have a checkup scheduled first. But…” He trailed off, glancing toward the door again. “Maybe after, if we have time.”

  
  
“You can’t seriously want to introduce them to the greenhouses so soon,” Sanghyuk scoffed. “Joohyun and her girls will kill us if they hurt any of the plants in there. Besides, what if they, I don’t know, eat something poisonous or something?”

  
  
“It’s good to give ample exercise and mental stimulation where we can,” Hakyeon retorted as the five entered the med center. “It’s not as if the labs are super spacious. And we’ll keep a close eye on them to make sure they stay out of trouble. They can’t even walk properly yet; it’s not like they can wreak _that_ much havoc.”

“Finally, you guys!” Jaehwan said, hopping off one of the sickbeds and coming forward to meet them. “What did you do, take the scenic rou-? Hey, they’re standing!” he exclaimed in delight and surprise as the two eldest set the hybrids down, who looked around wide-eyed at their new surroundings. Jaehwan bent down and smiled from ear to ear. “Hey, little guys. Nice to finally meet you.” He ruffled 7’s and then 8’s hair before straightening. “Hongbin and Wonshik have everything set up in the back room, so, if you’ll just follow me...”

“Ah, good, you’re here,” Hongbin said as they all stepped into the examination room where another two gurneys had been prepped. “Sanghyuk, if you’ll help me with getting some blood and tissue samples after we finish the preliminaries-”

“No samples today,” Hakyeon said firmly as he helped Subject 7 up to sit on one of the gurneys. “The ones you took right after they were removed from their tanks should be more than enough to tide you over a couple days while we let them get settled in. How would _you_ feel if everyone around you started jabbing you full of needles your first day in a new environment? Trust takes time to build, and we need to let it happen organically. We’ve waited this long; a couple more days won’t make much of a difference.”

Hongbin gave him a deeply unimpressed look, but obligingly removed the syringes on the surgical tray.

Hakyeon beamed at him gratefully. “Thanks, Hongbinnie. Oh, and don’t let Subject 7 near your hair, Wonshik,” he warned as the younger scientist approached. “I think he’s attracted to bright colors.”

“Yeah, he nearly tore out a chunk of Taekwoon-hyung’s hair,” Sanhyuk unhelpfully interjected.

“Oh, come on, he didn’t pull _that_ hard,” Hakyeon retorted indignantly amidst the other scientists’ alarmed silence, sending a death glare Sanghyuk’s way for good measure.

“I’d let him do it again,” Taekwoon added, patting 7 on the head fondly. The hybrid leaned happily into his touch, making a pleased, purr-like humming noise.

“Be that as it may, I like my hair right where it is, thanks, so I’ll just… go stand over here…” Wonshik said, quickly retreating and ensconcing himself back at the far side of the room near the scanner controls.

With that, Subject 7 and 8’s second physical commenced. While this one was far more thorough than their first, them being conscious for this one provided its own set of challenges. 7 especially could hardly sit still long enough for the scientists to get suitable scans for him, with Hongbin more than once threatening to break out the surgical straps. Taekwoon, bless him, finally managed to distract him long enough with the Rubik’s cube Sanghyuk kept on his office desk for the scientists to get the scans they needed, but it was still an uphill battle. 8 was a little more easier to manage, but even he was too intrigued by all the new sights and sounds and people around him to obediently sit completely still like a houseplant while he was poked and prodded and shoved under a number of bright, colorful lights. Finally, however, the procedures were all complete, and 7 and 8 were allowed to go goggle at Snapdragon in his tank in Hongbin’s office under Taekwoon’s close supervision while the rest of the scientists went over the initial physical results.

“Well,” Hongbin was saying as he entered the last bit of data into his persacom. “As far as I can tell, they’re perfectly healthy, aside from some minor muscle atrophy that should be easily remedied with enough time and exercise. No other degradation or physical ailments to speak of, and the insertion sites from the IV ports, tubes, and needles are healing up nicely. I don’t see any reason why you can’t test out the mana extractor on them before putting them in the photosynthesis room for the night if you’re careful.”

“That’s great news,” Hakyeon replied, much relieved. “Did you manage to pick up anything from the brain scans yet, Jaehwannie?”

“Nothing that stands out immediately. We’ll need time to go over them in more detail. I can get started on that while you take them back to the labs if you want.”

“Sounds good,” Hakyeon said, just as Wonshik entered the room, two cups full of specially-prepared nutrient water held carefully in both hands. “Oh, Wonshik, excellent timing. Taekwoon!” he called, “Could you bring 7 and 8 in here, please? It’s time to teach them how to drink!”

“Why can’t we just intravenously feed them, again?” Wonshik asked as Taekwoon soon entered the room with 7 and 8 in tow. “Surely that would be much easier than them having to learn how to drink and deal with… drinking’s byproduct.” 

“I wouldn’t call trying to install an IV every time they need nutrients a cakewalk, hyung,” Sanghyuk pointed out. 

“I don’t want to run the risk of having them tearing the port out or otherwise injuring themselves when it’s not directly in use, either,” Hongbin added. “They’re far more active and alert than we expected them to be, which makes intravenous feeding more impractical than it would otherwise be. Besides, they need to start developing their own gut flora if we’re ever going to eventually test whether or not they can eat solid food to supplement what they get from the water and natural photosynthesis. The only way to do that is to jumpstart their digestive tracts manually. If it doesn’t work out, we can always try the intravenous approach, but I’d rather not resort to that immediately.”

As he spoke, Hakyeon took the cups from Wonshik, crouched down in front of 7 and 8, and mimed taking a drink out of one of them before handing them off to the creatures with an encouraging expression. They stared curiously at the liquid sloshing about in the cups, before 7 unceremoniously upended his, pouring the water out all over the floor. He squealed and shuffled back in surprise as it splashed his bare feet. 8 immediately followed his lead, watching in rapt fascination as his own water also ended up on the floor.

“…You know, in hindsight, I don’t know what we were expecting to happen,” Sanghyuk said flatly while 8 crouched down to more closely examine the mess, dragging his fingers through the cool liquid as 7 peeked out distrustfully from behind Taekwoon’s leg.

“Here, let’s try it again,” Hakyeon said, retrieving the cups and handing them off to Wonshik again before going for a rag to wipe up the spill. “Maybe something to add interest would work better? Jaehwan, are there any more spare straws in the cafeteria?”

“Dunno, but I can check!” was the cheerful reply. “Be back in a few!”

They tried a couple more times to get the hybrids to drink from the cups before Jaehwan returned, but each time, the water inevitably ended up on the floor or their clothes, including one memorable instance where Taekwoon only barely saved 8 from an impromptu drenching by 7.

“Back!” Jaehwan finally announced as he ducked back into the med center examination room, brandishing a couple brightly-colored plastic straws. “Here, let me try demonstrating…”

He did so, making a comical face at the less than pleasant taste of the liquid, and handed the cup with the straw back to 7. The blond hybrid took it and obediently put his mouth on the straw just as Jaehwan had… but instead of sucking the water through the straw, he blew into it instead, creating a torrent of bubbles inside the cup. 8 let out a delighted giggle at the sight and immediately began doing the same into his cup, and both hybrids were soon soaked and giggling too much to continue blowing bubbles in the little water that remained in the bottom of their cups. This was the first time Hakyeon's colleagues had ever heard their creations laugh, and by their expressions, all of them found it nearly as charming as he did, the big mess they were making notwithstanding.

“Alright, so clearly, this is not working,” Wonshik observed once the cups were empty again, still without any of the water actually making it inside the hybrids.

“Well, what else do you suggest?” Hongbin replied snippily. “It’s not exactly like we can send back to civilization for a shipment of sippy cups in the next hour, now can we?”

“Sippy- of course!” Hakyeon clapped a hand to his forehead in a mixture of frustration and amusement. “We are such _idiots_.”

“Speak for yourself,” Sanghyuk muttered.

“No, I stand by that,” Hakyeon said, striding out of the examination room to Sanghyuk’s office. Grabbing what he was looking for after a minute of rummaging around, he hurried back and triumphantly held up two partially-empty water bottles.

“…Okay, you might have a point,” Sanghyuk finally said begrudgingly as the rest of the scientists all looked equally sheepish. 

After rinsing the water bottles out and filling them with the nutrient water, the scientists tried one more time to get the hybrids to drink on their own before they conceded defeat and went for the IVs. After a couple false starts, 7 finally, _finally_ managed to swallow some of the water, and began greedily gulping it down in earnest. 8 caught on quickly after that as well, and soon the two bottles were completely empty.

“Well,” Jaehwan said slowly, glancing at the pile of soaked rags on the floor and 8 and 7’s sodden clothing. “Better late than never, eh?”

“Indeed,” Taekwoon said, gently taking 7’s water bottle from him as he started to gnaw at the plastic mouth. “They picked it up remarkably fast, considering. From what my sister told me, it took our Minyulie a week to figure out how to graduate from a feeding bottle to a sippy cup.”

An interested gleam came into Hongbin’s eye at that. “Now isn’t _that_ fascinating. I wonder what other things they could pick up remarkably fast…”

“We’ll have ample time to test all that out later,” Hakyeon interjected, drying off 8’s damp clothing as best he could with a spare rag while Taekwoon did the same with 7. “For now, let’s get them into the mana extractor and the photosynthesis room. I wanted to stop by the greenhouses first, though, just to let them look around.” He checked his watch briefly. “Sunset shouldn’t end for another forty-five minutes or so, so they can start recharging in the Meadow if we hurry.”

  
  
“Not a bad idea,” Hongbin said approvingly. “It would probably be good for them to get some unfiltered sunlight occasionally in addition to what they’ll get from the grow lights.”

So the group split up again. Hongbin, Jaehwan, and Wonshik stayed behind to start going over the scans and data they’d collected from the physical while the other three headed to the greenhouses with 7 and 8. The hybrids’ eyes nearly fell out of their heads once they entered the lush, verdant space, surrounded as they were by so many new and exciting sights and smells. It was all Hakyeon and Taekwoon could do to keep ahold of them as they both immediately tried to run off to see everything as fast as they possibly could.

As the little group walked down the path toward the open section of one greenhouse aptly nicknamed the Meadow, they stepped into a patch of ruddy sunlight filtering through the thick, tempered, heavily shielded and warded glass high above them. Both hybrids froze, glancing up in surprise and then delight as the sun warmed their sensitive skin. 8 immediately sat down right where he stood on the path, almost pulling Hakyeon down with him with the suddenness of his movement, face still tilted up to the light while he let out a blissful sigh. 7 followed soon after, flopping down onto his back, arms and legs starfished out carelessly as he shut his eyes happily.

The three scientists stared down at their charges bemusedly, when, “Uncle Hakyeon? Dr. Han? Dr. Jung? What are you all doing in here at this hour?”

They whirled around. Two women stood on the path behind them, looking just as surprised as they were. One held a basketful of grapes, kiwis, and oranges, while the other held a watermelon under her left arm and two pineapples under her right.

“I could be asking you the same question, Yeri,” Hakyeon said, addressing the small blonde holding the basket who had previously spoken. “And what are you doing with that fruit? The last export was just a few days ago.”

Both women glanced at each other and squirmed guiltily before Yerim spoke up, all in a rush. “I know technically it’s only for exporting, Uncle, but Wendy’s birthday is tomorrow, and we wanted to surprise her with a cake! She’s always baking nice things for everyone else, so we wanted to try making something for her for once.”

  
  
“You’re going to put _watermelon_ on her cake?” Sanghyuk asked pointedly, glancing at the taller redhead holding said fruit.

Sooyoung flushed under his scrutiny. “Well, some of this is for party snacks, too...” 

“Please don’t tell Joohyun, Uncle,” Yerim pleaded, giving him her best puppy dog eyes. “She can’t tell us no if we haven’t asked, and we were going to deduct the cost of the fruit from our next paycheck anyway, we just haven’t gotten around to it yet.”

Hakyeon tried to look severe, but couldn’t quite manage it, and finally dropped the act entirely to smile at his young friend. “Promise us a slice of cake each, and you can consider our lips sealed, you two.”

“Deal!” Yerim beamed, the expression mirrored by her colleague.

“Oh, you still haven’t said why you all were down here,” Sooyoung observed. “Do you need something?”

“No, we were just…” Hakyeon said, turning slightly to glance at 7 and 8 behind them, only to freeze in shock and no small amount of alarm, because they had both completely disappeared in the minute or so their backs had been turned. He, Sanghyuk, and Taekwoon all exchanged equally panicked looks. In the dead silence that fell in the greenhouse, bubbly laughter could be heard in the vineyard a few plots away from the path.

“Could you excuse us for a moment, please?” Hakyeon said as politely as he could to the two horticulturalists before sprinting after his friends. His mind was a roar of blind panic, which was only assuaged by the three abruptly coming up on their creations, sitting under a grapevine, looking happy as pigs in mud. Which, incidentally, was what they were splattered head to toe with, since they’d chosen to plunk themselves down right next to an irrigation hose. 8 was making a small pile of muck in front of him, while 7 picked up big handfuls of the stuff and let it go, watching it plop back down to earth in utter delight and fascination. The rush of sheer relief that overtook Hakyeon made him dizzy, and he had to lean on a nearby yuzu tree to steady himself for a moment.

“Whatever happened to ‘we’ll keep a close eye on them?” muttered Sanghyuk, looking equal parts frustrated and amused as he glanced askance at Hakyeon. Hakyeon was still too relieved to muster much more than a weak glare in return.

“Just as long as they don’t try to eat it,” Taekwoon said, also looking positively giddy with relief. “You can take the flower out of the dirt, but taking the dirt out of the flower is a lot harder.”

“That was terrible, hyung,” Sanghyuk said flatly as Taekwoon giggled soundlessly at his own joke. “Never say that again, I’m begging you.”

“Well now, who’s this?” came Sooyoung’s voice from behind them. She and Yerim had silently come up behind them, and were staring in undisguised interest and no small amount of bemusement at the two strange teenage boys that were playing in the muddy soil like toddlers. “Did they come on the latest supply transport?”

“Not exactly,” Hakyeon said slowly, glancing at Taekwoon and Sanghyuk. Both nodded faintly at him, so he continued. “Meet the first successful results of Project Astro, you two.”

Both horticulturalists gasped in shock, glancing back at the two mud-covered hybrids with wide eyes. “_This_ is Project Astro?” Sooyoung said disbelievingly.

“Part of it,” Sanghyuk confirmed. Yerim grinned widely, and she set her basket down to go give Hakyeon a hug.

“Congratulations, you guys!” she exclaimed, before leaning back to pout up at him. “But why didn’t you tell us you were taking them out today? I know we’re getting ready for Wendy’s birthday, but we could have probably thrown something together for you on the side.”

“Well, given our previous track record, we didn’t want to publicize it in case…” Hakyeon trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. Yerim patted his shoulder sympathetically as Sooyoung marched up to the two hybrids and bent over to get a better look at them.

“Aww, they’re so cute!” she cooed, giving them a friendly smile. Both hybrids stared up at her in wonder, mouths agape. As if mesmerized, 7 started to reach for one of her loose, long, red curls… and then yelped as Sanghyuk snatched him up, holding his filthy form a safe distance away from both himself and Sooyoung’s hair.

“Oh, no you don’t, brat! Sorry about that, Sooyoung, they don’t have any sense of personal space yet,” Sanghyuk apologized as 7 squirmed restlessly in his hold, still making grabby hands at Sooyoung’s curls.

“No harm done,” she smiled, standing back as Hakyeon fetched Subject 8, holding him carefully as to not get more mud on himself than was absolutely necessary.

“They look… awfully human …” Yerim said doubtfully as she got a better look at them herself. “Why-?”

“Security reasons,” Hakyeon replied simply. Both women immediately made understanding noises and nodded knowingly. “Now if you’ll excuse us, ladies, we need to get these little hellions cleaned up. I doubt a simple cleaning cantrip is going to take care of this mess.”

“Don’t let us get in your way, then!” Sooyoung said cheerfully, following the scientists and their grubby burdens back to the path. “We’ll take the way through the biolabs instead. Come on, Yeri, Seulgi’s waiting.”

With that, the two groups parted ways, Yerim and Sooyoung heading for the kitchens while the scientists hauled the dripping, muddy 7 and 8 off to the VIP suite bathroom to get them clean, as it was the closest bathroom with working showers, and no one was currently bunked there, since it was only meant for high-ranked visitors to stay in. The large, walk-in shower and antique bathtub were also considerably more spacious than the tiny shower in the Lower Laboratory bathroom that was barely big enough to fit Sanghyuk, let alone two rambunctious hybrids, so the arrangement worked out well, all things considered.

While Taekwoon departed to fetch a fresh change of clothes and drop the muddy ones off in the Laundromat to get washed, Sanghyuk and Hakyeon got down to the business of giving Subjects 8 and 7 their first baths. The venture… well, it could have gone worse. 8 was content to just sit placidly in the bathtub and play with the bubbles while Hakyeon washed the mud out of his hair. 7, however…

“Get _back_ here, you little brat!” a damp and disgruntled Sanghyuk snapped, chasing the small, slippery blonde around the walk-in shower while he shrieked with laughter at this new and exciting game. “I swear to _God_, if he doesn’t _sit still_ so he can _get clean_ in the next _10 seconds_ I’m going to-! Oh, hi, Taekwoon-hyung.”

Lo and behold, Taekwoon had materialized seemingly from out of nowhere and bodily snatched up 7 as he skidded by. He held the hybrid off the ground like a squirming, wriggly puppy, and said calmly, “I’ll take it from here, Sanghyuk. How about you go get the mana extractor fired up while we finish up here?”

Sanghyuk didn’t even try to hide his immense relief as he beat a hasty retreat from the room, grabbing a towel to dry off on the way out. Hakyeon watched the proceedings with a brief chuckle, before gently preventing 8 from experimentally stuffing a fistful of bubbles in his mouth.

* * *

After their baths were finished, Taekwoon and Hakyeon led the freshly washed hybrids back to the science labs. After passing through the handprint and voice protected main doorway into the corridor. To the right, there was a door that branched off to the Upper Laboratories where Chaerin and her team worked. To the left, another door led to the Lower Laboratories, and at the far end of the room was another door that led off into more storage space. However, what the scientists were currently focused on was a large, upright glass case that had been constructed in the center of the corridor, surrounded by four pillars that held up the ceiling.

This was the mana extractor, a device constructed to draw magic out of people’s bodies and condense it into a compact, crystalline form so that it could be stored and transported easier for future use, such as powering generators or amplifying spells. Sanghyuk stood beside the device, and the glowing condenser coils lining around the inside in a jagged wave pattern had already been activated, glowing with a steady, pinkish-white light. 

“So, who’s the first victim?” Sanghyuk asked jokingly as they all approached.

“I think 8 should go first,” Hakyeon said, depositing him on the floor of the case. 8 blinked up at him curiously and looked more than slightly concerned, but didn’t voice any protest as Hakyeon withdrew and shut the fourth wall of the device that doubled as a door. “He’s naturally calmer than 7, and if 7 can see that the process isn’t dangerous or scary, he’ll likely be more willing to sit still for his own turn.”

“Makes sense,” Sanghyuk nodded, activating the device. The condenser coils flared briefly, and small, glittering sparkles began to appear around 8 as half his magic was drained away. He sat quietly the entire time, only starting appearing uncomfortable near the end of the process, fidgeting and whimpering and rubbing his eyes repeatedly like a cranky child trying to keep itself from falling asleep. Once it was over and Taekwoon removed him from the case, he wrapped his arms tightly around the man’s neck and buried his face into his shoulder with a tired moan.

As Taekwoon patted his back and spoke to him soothingly, Sanhyuk opened the collector bin beside the control panel, revealing nine tiny mana crystals sparkling in the light. Sanghyuk’s face was a study in incredulity, and Hakyeon was sure he was wearing an identical expression.

“Sanghyuk,” Hakyeon began, voice much calmer than he currently felt. “If I find out you miscalibrated this thing…”

“I didn’t!” Sanghyuk protested, pointing at the control panel. “See? It’s only at half power. As high as it will go now, might I remind you, ever since the-” He coughed meaningfully, “_incident_ with Sungjae.” 

“Are you sure it’s not-”

“200% sure.”

“Well then.” Taekwoon observed after they all looked at the nine glittering crystals in the bin again. “I’ll say this was a resounding success.”

“Better than I’d hoped, honestly,” Hakyeon said, placing 7 in the case for his turn. He stood up and immediately began tapping on the glass in fascination. “Nine crystals, and that’s only _half_ his entire mana reserve. That’s…” He did some quick mental calculations as Sanghyuk activated the extractor again, “over _fifty-four_ on the numinosity scale. And Jaehwan and I designed him to have _less_ mana than the others, just as a control base. If my calculations are right, based on this, you’ll get at least sixteen crystals from 7.”

“Hyung!” Sanghyuk sounded legitimately scandalized. “Are you _trying_ to get us all killed? Giving that type of raw power to the equivalent of-” He waved his hands in agitation, “newborn golden retriever puppies or whatever? At least babies’ mana reserves grow _with_ them instead of them coming out of the womb with a numinosity power level to rival freaking _Merlin_.”

“Don’t be dramatic, Hyukkie, they’re not _that_-”

“Besides the point!” Sanghyuk waved him away. “You’re telling me we just made half a dozen ticking time bombs that could level half this facility if they threw a bad enough temper tantrum?” As he spoke, one of said ticking time bombs was curiously crouched down and reaching out to touch one of the condenser coils inside the extractor as it hummed away… only to yank his hand back with a deeply offended expression at the heat when he got too close, sticking his tongue out at it crossly.

“Sanghyuk, calm down. Jaehwan and I aren’t that stupid, alright? They shouldn’t even be able to even consciously access their magic, let alone harness it enough to cause any sort of significant damage. It’s strictly for harvesting and recovery purposes. Trust me, we wouldn’t have given them such large reserves if they weren’t going to need it.”

He was prevented from saying anything further by the mana extractor giving its characteristic gentle chime, signaling the end of the process. As he removed Subject 7 - who'd finally wilted to the floor a few seconds prior, too drained to stand up any longer - and hefted him into his arms, Sanghyuk took a look at their yield. Hakyeon couldn’t suppress a triumphant little grin at the younger’s expression, which grew wider as 7 nuzzled his face into the side of his neck with a relieved sigh.

“Finally worn out, huh?” he murmured to the hybrid, running a gentle hand over the back of his blond, damp head. 7 grumbled wordlessly and nuzzled closer, hands coming up to latch onto Hakyeon’s labcoat. Turning his attention back to their youngest doctor, Hakyeon said, “What’s the count, Sanghyuk?”

“…Seventeen,” was the somewhat reluctant reply.

“Not bad for a first guesstimate,” Hakyeon said in satisfaction. He settled 7 more securely into his arms and straightened fully, going to stand over by Taekwoon. The alchemist was murmuring soothing nothings to Subject 8, who had started to very lightly doze on his shoulder. “Alright, I think it’s time we put these two to bed in the photosynthesis room. Sanghyuk, you can take the mana crystals to the biolabs to leave for Joohyun and her girls to analyze later. They’ll need to let us know if the frequencies are at all viable. And _don’t drop them_.”

“Yes, mom,” Sanghyuk muttered, carefully pouring the small crystals into a cloth bag and shoving it into his pocket. “Anything else on the itinerary for today, or am I dismissed?”

“That will be all,” Hakyeon replied primly, and sighed as Sanghyuk tore out of the science lab at a dead sprint, dramatically yelling "Freedom!" as he went. “I swear, that brat gets cheekier with every passing day,” he complained as he and Taekwoon walked down to the photosynthesis room located deep in the Lower Laboratory. “Where did we go wrong with him, Taekwoonie? Do you think it's something in the water?”

"Most likely,” Taekwoon said, playing along. The corners of his mouth twitched at Hakyeon’s dramatic groan of consternation. “But look on the bright side; at least these little guys aren't a lost cause yet.” He looked down fondly at the salmon-colored head resting limply on his shoulder.

Hakyeon brightened at this. “True. We’ll be sure to teach them and their brothers _proper_ manners, and I'm sure they'll prove to be much better pupils than their Sanghyuk-hyung. Isn’t that right, 7?” He patted the hybrid’s back as the two men reached their destination, a smallish room with powerful grow lights installed in the ceiling to mimic sunlight. A shield had been installed over the lights to dim them to a comfortable brightness suitable for sleeping, while still letting the necessary wavelengths through to still provide sufficient photosynthesis for their creations. Running down the length of the room were six partitions made of small chain link running from floor to ceiling, three to each side. Each had a gate set into the front, each one labeled with a number ranging from 7 to 12 on a piece of tape stuck to the top bar of the door.

“Alright, here we are, kiddo,” Hakyeon said, toeing open the door to the first enclosure door to the left of the entrance. He stepped in and placed 7 down onto the soft, smooth floor of the containment unit, which had some bounce and give to it so it was comfortable to sleep on. Or rather, he tried to. Getting his mana drained had apparently made 7 somewhat clingy. He hung on tighter to Hakyeon’s clothes and pressed his face into his shirt with a childish whine.

“Hey now, none of that,” Hakyeon chided, gently prying 7 off his clothes and dropping a light kiss onto his forehead. “Our work is nowhere near done for the day, and _you_ need your sleep.” 7 still looked disgruntled at losing Hakyeon’s body warmth, but the kiss had seemingly bewildered him enough that he allowed the scientist to put him on the floor. Hakyeon beat a hasty retreat from the containment unit before 7 could react further and locked the door behind him.

He glanced over to see Taekwoon smoothing a lock of 8’s hair away from his face as he lay curled up like a cat on the floor of the containment unit next to 7's, already out cold. Somewhat reluctantly, Taekwoon withdrew and locked 8’s door as well. A snore brought Hakyeon’s attention back to 7’s containment unit, and he smiled fondly to see that the vivacious little thing had finally lost the battle with fatigue and followed his younger sibling to dreamland.

“Sleep well, you two,” he said softly with one last parting look over his shoulder as he and Taekwoon finally departed for the med center. 

* * *

_Notes:_

_\- Minyul is Leo's beloved nephew [who was born in 2015](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/09/79/cc/0979cc8acdfcb0097931ceb55a2b6891.jpg). We Starlights occasionally get photo and video updates of him when his Uncle Taekwoon gets the opportunity to [visit him and spoil him rotten](https://infiniapeiron.tumblr.com/post/157978918875/uncle-taekwoon-2)._

_\- Cameos from Red Velvet's Joy and Yeri in this chapter! I'm referencing their [Red Flavor MV](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyiIGEHQP8o) with the group's appearances and roles in the facility. _

_\- VIXX's N and Red Velvet's Yeri are great friends irl despite their age difference of 9 years. She's the same age as his oldest nephew, so [he calls her niece](https://fyeah-vixx.tumblr.com/post/150109178016/n-channnnn-%EC%98%A4%EB%8A%98-%EC%BB%B4%EB%B0%B1%ED%95%98%EB%8A%94-%EC%98%88%EB%A6%AC%EC%A1%B0%EC%B9%B4-%ED%99%94%EC%9D%B4%ED%8C%85-%EB%9F%AC%EC%8B%9C%EC%95%88%EB%A3%B0%EB%A0%9B) and [she calls him uncle](https://keuphorics.tumblr.com/post/136233267864/yeri-and-her-uncle-hakyeon-oppa) even though they're not related, it's adorable._

_\- Wendy's birthday is February 21st, 2 days before Astro's debut date. I thought it was a cool little detail, so I included it. :P_


	3. Brain Scans and Best-Laid Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the two month wait between updates, guys. Real life has been crazy lately, and this chapter fought me tooth and nail from beginning to end. >.< Hopefully it turned out okay regardless.

“Good morning, everyone,” Hakyeon said cheerily as he entered the meeting room, closely followed by Jaehwan. The geneticists both tossed a stack of folders each on the meeting table which caused the overly-caffeinated Taekwoon to jump at least three centimeters. “How’s everyone feeling?”

“Confused, mostly,” Wonshik replied, leaning back in his chair, arms crossed, as the two final members of their group also took their seats. “Why the sudden meeting? Shouldn’t we be getting ready to take Subjects 9 and 10 out of their tanks later today?”

“That’s what we wanted to discuss, actually. Jaehwannie?”

As his leader’s encouraging nod, Jaehwan flipped open the folder on top of his stack and pulled out a series of about six images. Spreading them out on the table for their four colleagues to see, he said, “These are some of the brain scans we took of Subjects 7 and 8 yesterday.”

“What, is there a problem?” Hongbin asked, leaning forward to examine them more closely.

“No, no, nothing like that,” Jaehwan hastened to reassure him and the others, who had started to look concerned. “Okay, so I won’t get into the specifics because we’d be here all day if I did, but the long and short of it is this: you remember what happened with Subject 5 and Subject 6, correct?”

“Pretty hard to forget,” Sanghyuk muttered as everyone’s faces darkened, and Jaehwan winced.

“Yes, well, we were trying to avoid a repeat of… _that_… so hyung and I tweaked this next batch considerably in the hopes of getting something that was a bit more aware of its surroundings and had enough brainpower to keep their organs functioning without life support. Good news is, we succeeded! Bad news is, we succeeded… maybe a little _too_ well.”

“How well?” Hongbin said slowly after a moment of loud silence had passed. “Exactly how much brainpower are we talking here?”

“Well, we won’t know for sure until we run some more in-depth intelligence tests, but just from a cursory observation, I would say at least Subject 7 and Subject 8 are about at the level of a two-year-old child mentally and emotionally. Or a particularly smart dog, if you prefer. Look at how quickly they picked up walking and drinking from a bottle.”

“Will they get smarter, you think?” Taekwoon spoke up for the first time. Jaewhan and Hakyeon immediately shook their heads.

“I would say the possibility is almost infinitesimally small,” Jaehwan said. “Because their bodies are physically mature, that means their brains are basically done developing, too, which in turn means that they’re as smart as they’re going to get. Probably. However, that doesn’t mean they won’t throw some curveballs our way as they learn, particularly when it comes to language, since their auditory and speech recognition centers seem to be fully functional.”

“You mean they’ll actually have the mental capacity to talk?” Hongbin said skeptically.

“Not immediately, no. However, once they’re exposed to more Korean, it’s quite plausible that they may begin to imitate sounds or words they hear, since they do still have human vocal cords.”

“So then, what does this mean for the project?” said Wonshik guardedly.

“It means,” Hakyeon replied, smoothly interjecting himself into the conversation, “that we essentially created puppies instead of overgrown box turtles, and we need to adjust our approach to their testing and upbringing accordingly. Subject 9 looks like he'll be as tall as Wonshik, Subject 10 is only a few centimeters smaller than that at most, and Subject 12 is on par with Subject 10, and he’s not even done growing; we won’t be able to physically control them the same way we can the others if they turn out to be the stubborn or belligerent type. We need to make sure they unequivocally know who’s in charge while also making them as feel safe and secure around us as possible. They also need some sort of an enrichment schedule during the times they’re not sleeping or we’re running tests. Given all this, I think it would be better for us to delay taking 9 and 10 out for a day or two so we can get this all sorted out before getting in over our heads completely.”

Hongbin made a face. “Why can’t you and Taekwoon-hyung just be in charge of all that? You two are good with that sort of thing anyway.” Taekwoon sat up straighter in his chair with a hopeful expression, and Jaehwan hid a fond smile behind a cough.

“Taekwoon and I have our own duties to take care of on top of everything else.” Taekwoon’s hopeful look faded slightly. “Besides, we can’t be everywhere at once, and there will be times you’ll have to run tests or experiments without us being present. If they’re so dependent on us that nothing can get done without us being there, then we’ll _all_ have a big problem on our hands. This has to be a team effort for it to work.”

After another long moment of silence, Wonshik sighed loudly. “Well, I can’t say I’m that enthused about the prospect, but if that’s what you need, hyung, we’ll do our best.” Everyone nodded supportively, even Hongbin and Sanghyuk, and while Jaehwan couldn’t speak for the rest of them, Hakyeon’s radiant grin was all the thanks he personally needed.

“Why can’t we take Subjects 9 and 10 out today, though?” Taekwoon asked, clearly disappointed at having to wait longer to meet more of their creations. “Adjusting our testing schedules and everything else you mentioned shouldn’t take more than a few hours at most.”

“Hyung wants to childproof the labs first, too” Jaehwan said before Hakyeon could open his mouth. “Or, you know, hybrid-proof or whatever you want to call it.”

“He wants to what now?” Hongbin said, raising an eyebrow.

“That’s where they’ll be _living_, Hongbin. And if they’re not going to be staying in their containment units every second of every hour, then we need to do something about the state of the Lower Laboratory. Taekwoon, would you let Minyoolie run around down there unsupervised?”

Taekwoon’s expression of clear distress at the very thought was answer enough.

“That’s what I thought,” Hakyeon continued. “Add the fact that Subject 9 and Subject 10 in particular are as tall as we are and therefore can get into everything we can… yes, I would like to hybrid-proof our labs and offices as much as humanly possible before another one of them steps foot outside their tanks. I’d rather our testing was delayed by a couple more days than have our very valuable test subjects accidentally electrocute or hex themselves into oblivion.”

Sanghyuk grimaced. “Fair point.”

“It’s not as if we have to worry too much about that yet, though,” Hongbin said pragmatically. “They’ll likely sleep quite a bit to conserve energy unless we can supplement their diets with normal food. As long as we keep a close eye on them or put them somewhere they can’t get into trouble when they’re not sleeping, the issue should take care of itself. I do agree that it’s probably prudent to childproof everything we can just in case, though.”

“I vote we never do that,” said Sanghyuk immediately, raising a hand like a student in a classroom. “Er, the supplementing their diets with normal food thing, I mean. Subject 7 and Subject 8 are enough of a handful as it is, and that’s just two of them. I don’t even want to imagine the madhouse the labs will be if the other four are as energetic as they are. And you want them to be awake _more_?”

“Be that as it may, we can’t run our behavioral, stamina, or training experiments if they’re asleep _all_ the time, Sanghyuk,” Hakyeon said. “Plus, if they’re too sedentary, their muscles will quickly start to suffer for it.”

“Not like we didn’t have a contingency plan already in place for that,” Sanghyuk pointed out. “I don’t think anyone will argue with me when I say we’re woefully underprepared to take care of what amounts to a bunch of full grown, human-shaped puppies right now, and we need all the help we can get. If that means they sleep fourteen to eighteen hours a day for a while, then so much the better for us, right?”

“True, but the fact that they’re already so alert and energetic poses its own set of problems,” Jaehwan said. “Even with the sensitivity of their photoreceptors dialed up as high as we could make them without it being too taxing on their systems, and even with their lungs being able to process oxygen in addition to CO2, there’s a _reason_ you don’t see normal plants getting up and taking a casual stroll. Our hybrids run the very real risk of causing serious harm to themselves if they constantly expend more energy than they take in. Hence why we do need to ease them into solid foods eventually, even if it will be more work for us in the long run.”

“Don’t worry, Sanghyuk.” Hongbin patted the younger man on the shoulder sympathetically. “That won’t be for a while yet, so we’ll have time to get used to the idea.”

“Joy.”

“So then, now that we’re all on the same page.” Hakyeon stood and handed out a folder to each of the other scientists while Jaehwan busied himself with gathering up the brain scans. “I took the liberty of typing up some hybrid-proofing checklists last night. We can get started on that, and then Taekwoon and I can see about setting up an updated enrichment schedule later on today. If everything goes according to plan, we should be able to take Subjects 9 and 10 tomorrow, and then 11 and 12 the day after."

As everyone filed out of the meeting room, Hakyeon caught Jaehwan by the elbow. “Ah, Jaehwannie, I almost forgot. We were supposed to get an update from Joohyun about the mana crystals we extracted yesterday. I’d go myself, but-”

“Say no more, hyung, I got this,” Jaehwan interjected, inwardly exulting at the prospect of avoiding most of what amounted to an intensive bout of impromptu spring cleaning. To the rest of them, he said, “Well, as much as I would love to help you guys out, duty calls, so if you’ll excuse me…”  
  


Sanghyuk gasped in indignation. “No fair! Why does Jaewhan-hyung get to skip out on all this?”

“Because I’m his favorite, duh.”

“I _knew_ it. Hakyeon-hyung, how could you betray me like this?”

“Children, please, can we _focus_? For five minutes?”  
  


* * *

** _Two hours later…_ **

“Well, well, well, look who the cat dragged in.”

Jaehwan glanced loftily down at Hongbin, who was kneeling on the floor and busily fitting some foam padding around the sharp corners around the base of Honeysuckle’s cage. “Hello to you, too. Where’s Hakyeon-hyung?”

“Cleaning his office, I think,” he answered, as Taekwoon loudly dumped an armful of large salt and quartz purifier crystals into a bin over by his piano. “Unlike _some_ people.”

“For the sake of peace in the workplace, I’ll ignore that last comment,” Jaehwan sniffed, sauntering over to the door that lead from the main lab deeper into the facility. As he stepped through, he half turned and called over his shoulder, “Oh, by the way, you missed a spot.”

Hongbin’s annoyed “Hyung, I swear-!” was drowned out by his impish cackling as he passed by Wonshik’s personal potions and poisons lab and continued down the hall to his and Hakyeon’s offices.

As he approached, Hakyeon’s voice filtered out the partially open door to his office. Jaehwan poked his head in, curious as to who Hakyeon could be talking to. He wasn’t scheduled for any meetings at this hour, was he?

“-right, it’s best we get this taken care of ASAP,” Hakyeon said into the receiver of the antique, enchanted payphone mounted on the wall of his office next to a trellis that held a custom climbing rosebush. The head geneticist sat in the center of the plush couch set along the back wall, phone receiver held to his ear and Subjects 7 and 8 curled up on either side of him, sound asleep. As Jaehwan stared, he noticed two extension cords tied around each of their creations’ waists, the other ends tethered to the two front legs of the couch.

“Alright, I’ll be up in a few minutes, Minhyuk.” Hakyeon hung up the payphone, straining a little to reach, weighed down by two unconscious hybrids as he was. As he settled back down, holding both 7 and 8 close, he noticed Jaehwan and arched an eyebrow. “Finally back, I see. Did you take the scenic route, perchance?”

Jaehwan squirmed guiltily under his gaze. “I’m sorry, hyung, the time got away from me. Sooyoung and Yerim asked for my help in finishing the sequence for the common dandelion life frequency spell for so they could go bake Wendy’s birthday cake, and I didn’t have the heart to tell them no. I did talk with Joohyun, though! She’s going to send you a data pack later that goes into more detail, but from what she told me, the tests on 7’s mana crystals are super promising. With just three of them, she sprouted an entire planter of daffodils from bulb to full bloom overnight.”

Hakyeon stared.

“Yeah, that’s what I said. They’ve only tested 7’s so far, but Joohyun thinks that if the others’ mana frequencies are all as resonant as his, then the rest of the remaining plant sequences should be programmed into the All Light device around this time next year.”

“That’s wonderful news,” Hakyeon beamed, eyes welling up in relief and delight. He wiped away any suspicious moisture before it could fall as he spoke again, “To think that we may only be one year away…” He trailed off and stared into space for a moment before shaking himself and refocusing back on Jaehwan. “But we shouldn’t count our chickens before they’re hatched, and there’s no time to celebrate right now anyway.” 

“Ah.” Jaehwan gestured vaguely to the antique communication device on the wall. “Does it have anything to do with the conversation I walked in on?”

Hakyeon inclined his head, his expression turning from elated to troubled. “Apparently, one of the shielding glyphs stopped working.”

Jaehwan tried his best to conceal his alarm. “What, out of the blue? Just like that? Isn’t that supposed to be impossible?” His voice dropped almost to a whisper. “Do you think the gangsi are behind it?”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions. It could just be all the storms we’ve been having lately. Minhyuk wanted me to come up in a few minutes so we could discuss it in person with security and the rest of the department heads.”

“I see. And the sprouts?” Jaehwan glanced pointedly at the napping hybrids cuddled up to Hakyeon and the two empty water bottles resting on the simple coffee table in front of the couch.

“They wouldn’t let go of me after I gave them their next dose of water and took them to the bathroom, so I figured bringing them to my office while I finished tidying the place would be all around less traumatizing than forcing them to stay in their containment units with nothing to do. I’d already finished cleaning for the most part, so.”

“I assume you also have a good explanation for the extension cord leashes?”

Hakyeon chuckled. “I knew they would immediately try get into my roses, especially this little color-obsessed miscreant right here.” He patted Subject 7 fondly before deftly wiping away a line of drool from the creature’s mouth. “I thought it best to restrict their range of movement a little so they didn’t accidentally hurt themselves, especially since it’ll take me a little while to whip up a proper shielding charm for the roses. It’s just a good thing my table lamp is bolted down, or else they’d have already knocked it off twice over by now. Luckily for me, they seemed to just want to cuddle once they realized they couldn’t go far.”

“Jeez, hyung, don’t coddle them _too_ much; it’s not good for them.” _Or you._

“They’re barely two days old, Jaewhannie,” Hakyeon retorted, gently running a hand over the head of orange hair resting on his thigh. “If they don’t deserve at least _some_ coddling, then who does, I ask you?” He patted Subject 8’s hair once more before he heaved a sigh and began extricating himself as gently as possible from the two bodies draped over him. “Unfortunately, duty calls. Here, you can make up your tardiness to me by keeping an eye on 7 and 8 until I get back.”

Jaehwan sputtered. “Hyung, I’m a geneticist! Not a babysitter!”

“Nothing says you can’t be both.”

“And _you_ can’t just lock them back in their containment units because…? I have a lot of work to do, you know!”

“Because they need to start getting used to all of us, and they can’t exactly do that while locked in a cage. I’ll be about forty-five minutes at most, it’s not a fate worse than death. Nothing says you can’t get some sequencing done in here while I’m gone, either.” He gestured generously to the dry erase board mounted beside the door.

Jaehwan very much wanted to protest further, but he figured that he did kind of owe Hakyeon this one. “Alright, _fine_. Only because you’re my favorite hyung, mind you. Don’t tell Taekwoon.”

“My lips are sealed,” Hakyeon said serenely, strolling out of the room and clapping Jaehwan on the shoulder as he left. “Good luck.”

Jaehwan dubiously eyed the two sleeping bodies on the couch and sighed. “Thanks. I’ll need it.”

* * *

“Who needs luck?” Jaehwan murmured to himself about twenty minutes later. He stepped back with his hands on his hips to survey the scribbled lines of equations and doodles covering most of the board with a proud gleam in his eye. “I make my _own_ luck, thank you very much.”

He went back to his work, chafing somewhat at the silence in the room and wanting at least some music to listen to, but he was unwilling to risk waking the hybrids (who were still asleep, last he’d checked). He started to hope that maybe Subject 7 and Subject 8 wouldn’t even wake up at all until Hakyeon returned. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after-

“Ba?”

Jaehwan flinched hard enough that his marker made a loud squeak on the white board, and whirled around. Subject 7 sat on the floor as close to Jaehwan and the glass board as his tether would permit him, staring in clear fascination at the marker held in the scientist’s hand and the writing on the board. Jaehwan’s eyes flicked back over to the couch where Subject 8 was curled. Yup, still asleep.

“Don’t! _do_ that!” he hissed at 7, shaking his marker at the creature sternly. “My constitution is more fragile than it looks, you know.”

Subject 7 cocked his head on one side and uttered a long string of unintelligible syllables in response.

“Is that so?” Jaehwan replied, fighting to keep a smile under control. “Well, thank you for your opinion.”

7 pushed himself onto all fours and reached forward with one hand, straining against his leash, clearly intent on the marker in Jaehwan’s hand. Jaehwan briefly rolled his eyes toward the ceiling and prayed for patience as insistent, demanding chirps filled the room.

“_No_,” he said firmly. “I’m not going to let you vandalize hyung’s office. Sorry, but I’m not. And keep it down, you’ll wake up your brother.”

7 frowned, almost as if he understood Jaehwan’s words, took a deep breath, and opened his mouth. Jaehwan had a sudden flashback to when his fourteen-month-old niece had thrown a violent, screaming tantrum when denied access to the garage door opener. Thinking fast, he began doodling a dog on the white board, half expecting a piercing shriek to assault his eardrums any moment.

When it never came, he chanced a look behind him and breathed a sigh of relief to see 7 staring at the doodle in rapt awe. Crisis averted. Jaehwan continued to doodle and write out some more equations for a few more minutes, when a ping to his persacom informed him that someone had sent a large data pack to his main office computer. His heart leapt when he read the name attached: Lee Junghwan.

Loud yawning behind him made him turn to see that Subject 8 had finally woken up. He sat up, still yawning, and rubbed one eye with a fist while glancing around the room as if searching for something. His face fell when he didn’t seem to find it, and he gave a sad little chirr, only for it to turn into a surprised giggle as 7 tackle-hugged him around the middle and dragged him down onto the ornate rug covering the tile floor to tussle.

“It’s good to see the two of you getting along so well,” Jaehwan observed, smiling. His smile grew wider as his words drew the immediate attention of his creations. Another insistent beep on his persacom drew his attention back to it. His gaze flicked between it, the hybrids, the extension cords tethering them to the couch, and he chewed his lip thoughtfully for a moment.

“You two can entertain yourselves for a couple minutes, right? Won’t burn down the office if I step out for a moment?” This earned him two confused blinks, and he grinned and capped the marker, tossing it back into the box on Hakyeon’s desk with the rest of the spares. “Great. I just need to check this really quick, and I’ll be right back. Be good now.”

Jaehwan left the room, keeping the door cracked open to keep an ear on things, and stepped across the hall to his own cluttered office. Telling himself he’d just skim the message to see if his best friend had sent him any super important information pertaining to politics or their supply of seedlings, he sat down at his desk, clicked open the file, and started reading. He quickly became lost in the text, hearing the familiar tones of Junghwan’s lively, musical voice in his head as he read the words on the screen, and his heart gave a small pang. It really had been too long since they’d talked face to face, what with how busy both their schedules constantly were. He should suggest they carve out some time for a wave in his next repl-

A distant clatter drew his attention away from Junghwan’s message, and a quick glance at the clock on his wall caused a stifled oath to fall from his lips as he vaulted out of his chair and sprinted across the hall to Hakyeon’s office. Stupid, _stupid_, Hakyeon was going to _kill_ him…

He pushed open the door to Hakyeon’s office and stopped short, staring at the scene inside in incredulity and growing consternation. The first thing that caught his attention was the upturned couch at the back of the room, and the single, florescent orange extension cord tied to one of the legs. The other extension cord was conspicuously absent from the room entirely, as was Subject 8. The second thing that immediately drew his gaze was the haphazard scribbles of color covering Hakyeon’s desk, the dry erase board, and the walls around the board. The scribbles extended down to the floor where Subject 7 - who had somehow managed to untie himself – sat gleefully scribbling all over the floor and himself with handfuls of dry erase markers.

As Jaehwan stared, mentally calculating just how screwed he was, Subject 7 seemed to realize that he had company, looked up, and froze like a deer in headlights. The creature’s eyes darted from Jaehwan, to the markers in his hands, to Jaehwan again… and then he flung the markers in Jaehwan’s face and fled behind the desk on all fours.

_“Get back here, you brat!”_

* * *

A few minutes and one brief scuffle later, Jaehwan stomped thunderously down the hall, hauling a squirming, unrepentant Subject 7 under his arm like a sack of flour. He passed Sanghyuk on the way. Judging by how the younger man immediately gave him a wide berth, Jaehwan looked as livid as he felt.

Of course, that didn’t stop Sanghyuk from calling out, “Wow, hyung, what happened? Did the markers revolt again?”

Jaehwan’s only response was a terse, “Shut up and start looking for Subject 8, wise guy.”

“Are you telling me you actually managed to lose an _entire_ hybrid?” Sanghyuk let out a low whistle. “Hakyeon’s going to mount your head on a _pike_.”

“I said start _looking_, Sanghyuk! I doubt you’ve childproofed the server room or the break room yet, and if he gets in there…”

“Yeah, alright, fine, but you _owe_ me…”

Sanghyuk was then out of earshot, and Jaehwan marched into the main laboratory. Taekwoon, who had been sitting at a desk and packing a number of loose folders into a box, looked up in bewilderment at the frazzled geneticist and his ink-stained burden … and then let out a surprised wheeze as Jaehwan unceremoniously dumped the blond hybrid into his lap. “Do me a solid and make sure the little hellion doesn’t kill himself in the next ten minutes, okay?” 

“Having a problem, Jaehwannie?” Taekwoon asked innocently, not even bothering to hide his amusement as he settled Subject 7 more comfortably on his lap. 7 babbled happily in response, and reached up with ink-stained hands to pat and squish Taekwoon’s cheeks. The alchemist visibly melted and cooed adoringly, squishing the hybrid's cheeks in turn. Jaehwan hardened his heart against the adorable sight, wrapping his exasperation around him like a shield.

“Absolutely not, I’ve got everything under control,” he lied through his teeth. ”I just need my hands free for a few minutes, and I’ll be back to take him off your hands again. No need to mention this to Hakyeon whatsoever. In fact, if you clean him up for me, I’ll take over your next three dish duties.”

Taekwoon didn't even bother to take his eyes off Subject 7. “Four.”

“You drive a hard bargain, hyung, but fine, four. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some pressing matters to attend to, so-” 

A loud, dramatic, girly shriek from the depths of the laboratory cut off the rest of Jaehwan’s sentence, and he frantically bolted back down the way he’d come to the break room, the light to which had been switched on in his absence. He pushed open the door to find-

“Give it _back_, you little rat! I’m not going to tell you again!”

-Sanghyuk playing tug of war with Subject 8? As Jaehwan gawked in utter bemusement, Sanghyuk caught sight of him. “Hyung! Stop gawping like a goldfish and help me out!”

His words were punctuated by an indignant squawk from Subject 8, who looked more upset than Jaehwan had ever seen him. The small hybrid latched on tighter to the object and stubbornly curled into a ball on the floor. The extension cord was still tied firmly around his waist and trailed behind him like the world’s longest mouse tail.

“What exactly is going on here?” As Jaehwan approached, Sanghyuk stopped pulling at what Jaehwan now recognized as Sanghyuk’s favorite crocheted blanket and straightened up, putting his hands on his hips in a pose he’d absolutely stolen from Hakyeon.

“He stole my blanket!” Sanghyuk complained, shoving his end in Jaehwan’s face. “Little brat was all wrapped up in it in the middle of the floor when I walked in, and I almost tripped over him and died! Scared me half to death, probably took at least three months off my entire lifespan.”

“Ah, was that what that girly scream was?”

“Besides the point! There are a lot of things I’m willing to put up with for the sake of scientific progress, but I draw the line at this. I don’t _care_ if the walking gladiolus has decided my sister’s blanket is his now, it’s _not_, and he can’t _have_ it, and if he _damages_ it in any _way_, shape, or _form_, I will be _very_ unhappy.” Sanghyuk punctuated his statement with multiple strong tugs to the blanket, and on the last one, he finally succeeded in ripping it away from Subject 8.

The hybrid stared up at the two men in shock for a second, and then his face crumpled, eyes welling up with tears.

“Great, here come the crocodile tears,” Sanghyuk muttered as Subject 8’s dejected sobs filled the room. “It’s not going to work on me, kid, get over it.” Subject 8 simply cried harder, and Jaehwan felt a twinge of guilt. By the way Sanghyuk squirmed uncomfortably, he wasn’t unaffected, either. Jaehwan briefly considered just picking the hybrid up and putting him back in his containment unit so he could take care of Hakyeon’s office before their leader returned, but the thought of leaving the little thing crying all alone made him feel so awful that he quickly discarded the notion. If only there was a quick way to get him to stop crying without giving him the blanket back, it would solve all their problems. Some kind of distrac…tion… Jaehwan suddenly stood up straighter.

“Sanghyuk, let him have the blanket.” He winced at the look of sheer betrayal Sanghyuk aimed at him. “Look, we need him to stop crying before we can do anything else, so just let him have it for a minute.”

“Did you not hear a _word_ I just said? Look at him, he’s going to get snot all over it! And besides, won’t that just reinforce bad behavior?”

“Just give it to him, okay? I have a plan.”

“Oh, wonderful, Jaehwan-hyung has a _plan_.” Sanghyuk rolled his eyes, but obediently – if extremely reluctantly – dropped the blanket on 8’s head. “Because those always go _so_ well. And I meant what I said; if he damages it, I will be _unhappy_.”

“Oh ye of little faith,” Jaehwan shot back, backpedaling swiftly out of the room. “It’ll be fine. I’ll be back before you know it, just don’t take your eyes off him.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” was the wry reply.

Jaehwan jogged down the hall to the restocked supply closet and rummaged around on a shelf until he found what he was looking for. Finally, from the bottom of a stack of rags, he pulled out a stained, ratty blanket turned large rag, which, despite repeated washings, still smelled strongly of pear, mint, and bamboo from when it was last used to sop up one of Wonshik’s more recent accidents. Despite its shabby appearance, though, it was still quite soft and reasonably warm.

Returning to the break room with the rag tucked under one arm, Jaehwan found Sanghyuk leaning against the game cabinet staring intently at a small lump on the floor. Subject 8 had wrapped himself entirely in the blanket and refused to come out even when Jaehwan lightly prodded him with a shoe, a plaintive whine emerging from the mass of fabric. He’d stopped crying, though, which was at least a step in the right direction.

“Come on, kid,” Jaehwan sighed, crouching beside the blanket lump. “Don’t make this difficult.” He felt around until he found an edge and worked it back until coral-colored hair came into view. A reddened, puffy blue eye peeked out at him distrustfully, and Jaehwan smiled as widely as he could and held out the rag. “Look what I got for you! Isn’t it cool? Way better than that thing you’re currently wrapped in, isn’t it?”

Subject 8 eyed the other blanket curiously and slowly sat up, Sanghyuk’s blanket falling off his shoulders to pool around his waist and legs. After glancing between both scientists a few times, he started to reach for it, eyes going wide once he finally grasped it in one hand. He gave an appreciative coo and ran a hand back and forth over the soft, faded green fabric a few times, a smile starting to grow on his face. When neither Jaehwan nor Sanghyuk moved to stop him, he snatched the blanket out of Jaehwan’s hands and bundled it into his arms, burying his face in the pliant, sweet-smelling cloth with a happy warble. Jaehwan took that opportunity to detangle the other blanket from around him before Sanghyuk swooped in and rescued it, looking over it with disgust.

“That’s going in the wash immediately,” he commented, holding it between a thumb and forefinger as he dropped it behind the open door to deal with later.

Subject 8, on the other hand, was simply too thoroughly enchanted by his new treasure to be too heartbroken about the loss of the old one. As Jaehwan stood, the hybrid moved closer and pressed up against his leg, wrapping one arm around it while keeping a tight hold on his new blanket with the other. He tilted his head up, and the starry look in his eyes as he cuddled the rag made the geneticist’s stomach do a weird flip-flop.

“Yeah, yeah, sure, you’re welcome,” he muttered, reaching down to give him an awkward pat on the head. Over his shoulder, he called, “Hey, Sanghyuk, do you think you could put the sprout in his containment unit for a bit while I get Hakyeon’s office cleaned up? If he gets wind of this, I’m dead meat.” 

“If I get wind of what, Jaehwannie?” came a new voice from behind them.

Jaehwan said a word.

* * *

** _Notes:_ **

_Lee Junghwan: [B1A4's Sandeul](https://orange-sandeul.tumblr.com/post/153044320679/bffs-junghwan-and-jaehwan), one of Ken's best friends irl. I couldn't pass up the chance to include a reference to him. <3_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New flower boys next chapter, promise!


	4. The Hepatica and the Rose

“So… how exactly are we planning on getting this one out again?” Wonshik asked, as he and the rest of his colleagues sans Hongbin stood in front of Subject 9’s canister in the Nursery.

“The same way we got the previous two out,” Hakyeon replied, as if it was obvious.

“He’s _Wonshik’s_ size, hyung,” Sanghyuk pointed out, gesturing at Subject 9’s long, lean form, floating gently within the perfluorocarbon. “If he falls on you like Subject 7 did, you’ll get squished.”

“I could bench press Wonshik if I were so inclined, Sanghyuk,” Hakyeon said, equal parts amused and annoyed. “But, if you’re so concerned, then you’re more than welcome to catch him yourself.” He stepped aside and gestured generously for Sanghyuk to take his place.

Sanghyuk’s expression said plainly that he regretted ever opening his mouth, but he wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. “Sure, I’ll be glad to.”

“Walked right into that one, Sanghyuk,” Hongbin chuckled, disconnecting the final tube from Subject 9’s body and initiating the drainage procedure.

Sanghyuk gave Hongbin the stink eye, but chose not to retort. The liquid within Subject 9’s canister drained swiftly, leaving the hybrid slumped in a semi-standing position against the tinted glass of the container. This left him in a rather awkward position as the glass descended into the ground, and he nearly tumbled out of the canister head over heels before Sanghyuk managed to catch him in a full-body embrace, head lolling against Sanghyuk’s shoulder as the doctor did his best to keep him from sliding to the floor.

“Um…” Sanghyuk said, arms full of dripping, trembling, naked hybrid. “Little help, guys?”

Subject 9 chose that exact moment to throw up the fluid in his lungs all over Sanghyuk’s back. The look of complete disgust on Sanghyuk’s face as the warm liquid soaked into his clothes broke the tension in the room, and the rest of the scientists broke into laughter even as they all pitched in to get Subject 9 toweled off and onto one of the prepped gurneys.

“My niece did that to my sister-in-law the first time she held her,” Jaehwan stated, still snickering as he helpfully handed a disgruntled Sanghyuk a spare towel before turning back to monitor Subject 9’s oxygen and CO2 levels. “You’re in good company, Hyukkie.”

“I feel so honored,” Sanghyuk grumbled, giving his arms and chest a perfunctory wipe before giving it up as a futile endeavor. “You better take this one, Hongbin-hyung. No point in getting someone else’s clothes ruined. Wonshik can take care of the draining procedure.”

“Well, if you’re sure.” Hongbin shrugged and moved in to begin bandaging up 9’s various wounds from the detached tubes, electrodes, and needles, keeping pace with the gurney with practiced ease as Taekwoon wheeled it out into the main laboratory. Jaehwan followed to continue monitoring the hybrid’s vitals. The remaining three scientists turned their attention across the room to Subject 10’s canister.

“Wonshik?” Hakyeon prodded.

“Oh, right.” As Wonshik hurried to the control console to begin draining their fourth hybrid’s canister, Hakyeon and Sanghyuk got into position.

“Good thing I stepped up, hyung,” Sanghyuk said as he deftly assisted Wonshik with disconnecting Subject 10 from his life support. “You would have been flattened for sure.” He didn’t even bother to evade the smack Hakyeon aimed at the back of his head.

* * *

Removing Subject 10 proved to be a relatively uneventful affair. Knowing what to expect this time, Sanghyuk maneuvered the tall hybrid so that he coughed up the fluid in his lungs all over the floor instead of his clothes (the fact that it managed to splash both Wonshik and Hakyeon’s shoes in the process was completely coincidental, of course). Hakyeon toweled him off, and helped Wonshik lay him out on the second gurney before they joined the other half of their cohort in the main lab.

As with Subjects 7 and 8, Subjects 9 and 10 were bandaged up, clothed, groomed, given preliminary physicals, and had their control chips activated before finally being deposited in the supply closets to sleep off their sedation. The rest of the scientists – minus Sanghyuk, who eventually left to get a dry change of clothes – busied themselves with various tasks and settled in to wait, not quite as nervous as they’d been a couple days prior, but still very on edge. Just because nothing had gone wrong with 7 and 8 didn’t mean their younger siblings were out of the woods just yet.

“Fifteen credits says 9 wakes up before 10,” Jaehwan commented from his perch on a chair as he filled up yet another notebook with stress doodles.

“I don’t bet on sure things, hyung,” Hongbin replied with a smirk, looking up from the slide of skin samples he was studying under the laboratory’s high-powered microscope. “Though, to be fair, I would have thought it was a sure thing that Hakyeon-hyung was going to toss you out the airlock yesterday and let you take your chances with the gangsi, so I guess miracles do happen.”

“The option is still on the table,” Hakyeon said only half-jokingly, quashing the reflexive flare of residual irritation still smoldering in his gut. He and his five colleagues had been through a lot together, and he loved them all like family, but his patience did have its limits, and Jaehwan leaving two vulnerable, valuable hybrids on their own in an unsafe science lab had _sorely_ tried them. “Especially if something like that happens _again_ on his watch.”

“It won’t!” Jaehwan yelped, shrinking in on himself in his chair and hiding behind his notebook in shame. “I promise, hyung. Cross my heart and hope to fry, stick a jonquil in my eye.”

“Who are we frying?” Sanghyuk asked, walking in the door, decidedly drier than he was when he left.

“Jaehwan. For the babysitting snafu,” Taekwoon interjected helpfully.

“Oh, are we getting a round two of yesterday’s fireworks?” Sanghyuk pulled up a chair and sat in it backwards, crossing his arms over the back with an attentive expression. “I missed most of them last time.”

“Come on, guys, nothing happened, and he said he was sorry,” Wonshik said, taking Jaehwan’s side like he usually did. “Let it go.”

“_Thank_ you, Wonshikkie,” Jaewhan said. His face fell, and he sighed heavily. “Look, I know I screwed up, okay? You don’t need to make me feel worse about it.”

“True, it’s water under the bridge now,” Hakyeon conceded, unthawing a little at the younger man’s contrite expression. “But I want this to be a lesson to you _all_ to take this more seriously going forward. You can joke about ‘babysitting duties’ and the like all you want, but the fact remains that we _cannot afford_ to be cavalier about our creations’ safety and well-being. I’m sure accidents will happen, and we _will_ make mistakes along the way, no doubt, but they _won’t_ be because we were being intentionally negligent or careless. Do I make myself clear?” Everyone’s expressions had sobered as Hakyeon spoke, and a series of unsynchronized nods traveled around the room.

“Crystal, hyung,” Sanghyuk said quietly.

“Good.” Movement on one of the screens drew Hakyeon’s attention. He stood in one fluid motion and crossed the floor to get a better look. Subject 9 had woken up, and was attempting to sit up on his sleeping pallet with minimal success. Hakyeon took a deep, steadying breath, picked up his commlink off the desk and fitted it over his ear. “That would be my cue. Keep in touch.”

* * *

As he walked down to the supply closet Subject 9 was being kept in, Hakyeon felt bubbling excitement swiftly replace his lingering frustration and anxiety. This was supposed to be a happy occasion, after all. He was about to meet yet another of his creations for the first time, and he couldn’t wait to see what their tallest hybrid’s personality would be like.

Upon reaching the closet, Hakyeon eased open the door and cautiously poked his head in to see if Subject 9 had made any progress in his efforts to sit up. He had, though not without immense effort, if his soft panting and the way he slumped tiredly against the wall was any indication. He must have had sharp ears, though, because even though Hakyeon thought he hadn’t made much if any noise when opening the door, 9 lifted his head only a second or two later and looked in his direction. Light brown eyes widened as they caught sight of him, and 9 sat up straighter, instinctively drawing his limbs closer to his body. He didn’t seem afraid, per se, but he was definitely warier of the scientist than either 7 or 8 had been.

“Hey, kiddo,” Hakyeon said, keeping his voice low and soothing, like he was speaking to a skittish animal. He stepped fully into the room and shut the door behind him. “Tired yourself out already, have you?”

9 scrutinized him closely as he spoke, head tilting first to one side and then the other, his clear, sharp, intelligent eyes narrowing slightly. Finally, as if he understood Hakyeon’s words and decided to prove him wrong, he cautiously plucked up the courage to go investigate the newcomer. He put out his hand to crawl forward… and collapsed to the floor in a heap, his long limbs going every which way. The sight reminded Hakyeon of a colt trying to learn to walk, and he had to stifle a laugh even as he stepped forward to help the creature up. “Careful there, now, wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.” 

9 went very still as Hakyeon’s hands took hold of his upper arms and gently maneuvered them under him again. He gazed up at him in what appeared to be confusion, which immediately turned to shock as Hakyeon let go. He held himself up for only a couple seconds before his arms slid out from under him a second time, and he let out a grunt as his cheek struck the cold linoleum. Hakyeon bent down to help him up again.

“This could take a while, hyung,” came Wonshik’s voice over his commlink.

“Yes, Wonshik, I am aware,” Hakyeon replied, stepping back a number of paces to sit on the floor while Subject 9 wavered violently on his hands and knees, breathing hard. “However, I can’t really think of a better way to currently spend my time than helping one of my creations discover the power of locomotion for the first time, can you?”

“Well, when you put it like that,” Wonshik mumbled as tinny chuckles filtered through from the others in the background and 9’s limbs finally failed him again.

“Come on, Subject 9, you can do it,” Hakyeon urged, patting the floor in front of him encouragingly. His heart wrenched as 9 gave him a pleading look, whimpering softly, but with valiant effort, Hakyeon restrained himself from helping him up this time. The hybrid would have to learn how to get around on his own sooner or later. Maybe letting him take a few minutes to try to figure it out himself would work out better.

Unfortunately, it did not. Unlike Subject 7, whose inelegance was born more out of haste rather than actual, genuine incoordination, Subject 9 turned out to be well and truly clumsy, to the extent that Hakyeon began to worry that something was actually wrong with him. The poor thing simply could not seem to figure out how or where to place his limbs so that he could successfully crawl more than a pace or two without crumpling to the ground in an ungraceful heap. To his credit, however, he stubbornly inched forward bit by bit, spurred on by Hakyeon’s enthusiastic encouragements, until he finally reached the scientist. Before he could collapse yet again, Hakyeon caught him and pulled him into a joyful hug, forgetting to be cautious in his elation.

“You did it, 9, you did it!” he praised, beaming from ear to ear. He leaned back to tenderly brush sweat-soaked bangs out of the hybrid’s eyes as he tiredly listed into his side. “You worked so hard. I’m so proud of you.”

Even though he couldn’t possibly have understood Hakyeon, the answering smile that spread across 9’s handsome, youthful face was genuinely one of the most charming the geneticist had ever seen in his life. Hakyeon was immediately as smitten as he was with his other two hybrids, and couldn’t resist cuddling him some more. 9 voiced no protest at the additional coddling, tucking his head under Hakyeon’s chin with a low chirr of satisfaction as Hakyeon stroked his dark, violet-blue hair. Hakyeon became aware of a fresh, rich, delicate scent wafting through the air, and he smiled again.

“I can see why you chose a hepatica for this one, Binnie,” he said teasingly into his earpiece, carding his fingers through 9’s soft hair once more. “We could start bottling and selling this scent. Actually, Taekwoonie, make a note of that, we need to look into this further.”

“For the last time, that’s _not_ why I chose it, hyung,” Hongbin said in a longsuffering manner. “Weeds tend to be hardier than normal flowers, and I thought it prudent to have at least one in the mix to see whether that would have any effect on testing.”

“The proper term is ‘wildflower,’ Hongbin,” Jaehwan sniffed disapprovingly. “’Weed’ sounds like an insult.”

“Do you really want to argue semantics _right now_, hyung?”

“Words are important!”

“Kids,” Hakyeon interjected mildly. Subject 9’s arms had snaked around his waist sometime during the conversation as the hybrid draped himself over Hakyeon, curling as close to the scientist’s warmth as he could get. Hakyeon was no stranger to cuddling bodies taller than his, but 9’s clumsiness and sheer size made it somewhat difficult. They both managed it in the end, however.

“Cuddly sprout, isn’t he,” Sanghyuk observed.

“Like a big dog that still thinks it’s a puppy,” Taekwoon said affectionately.

“I’d say he’s more like a cat,” Hakyeon chuckled, continuing to pet 9’s violet hair as the creature hummed softly to himself in contentment, the deep, resonant sound reminiscent of a purr. “Standoffish and skittish at first, cuddly when you get to know him. Very catlike.”

“Kind of like Taekwoon-hyung,” Jaehwan said mischievously.

“You think so?” Taekwoon asked, shy delight creeping into his tone.

“I think it’s a little too early to decide who everyone takes after, hyung,” Hongbin said pragmatically. “Give it a couple weeks.”

As the others spoke, 9 gradually went limp and still against Hakyeon, and his soft humming soon turned to snores.

“About time,” Hakyeon murmured, running the back of one finger down 9’s smooth, pale cheek. “You really wore yourself out earlier, didn’t you?”

“Do you think there’s something wrong with him, hyung?” Jaehwan asked worriedly, giving voice to Hakyeon’s earlier concerns. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything that clumsy. It didn’t take 7 or 8 that long to learn how to crawl, and they certainly weren’t that inelegant about it. Even puppies and kittens can usually get from point A to B without falling over themselves twenty-four times. I counted, by the way.”

“Well, nothing showed up in the preliminary physical. It’s unreasonable to assume that they’ll all have the same learning curves when it comes to certain areas, though,” Hongbin pointed out. “Maybe Subject 7 and Subject 8 were just unusually gifted when it comes to performing physical tasks. We haven’t really had a chance to study all their capabilities in depth yet. It could just be that Subject 9 will have to work harder than the others to learn how to crawl and walk. I’ll check him over in more depth later, since there _could_ be something that we missed, but I’m leaning more towards him just being naturally clumsy because of his size and stature rather than it being a medical issue.”

  
“That’s reassuring to hear,” Hakyeon said, much relieved.

As he internally debated whether he could get away with holding 9 for a few more minutes before the others started to give him grief for it, Wonshik’s voice broke in over the comm. “Hey, hyung, Subject 10 woke up about fifteen seconds ago. Thought you’d like to know.”

“I do indeed, Wonshikie, thank you. Has he done anything yet?” Hakyeon regretfully began the arduous process of disentangling himself from Subject 9’s death grip without waking him up. He wished he could stay with 9 a little longer, but if their fourth hybrid turned out to be as clumsy as their third, he would much rather be in the same room for supervision rather than let him potentially injure himself.

“Not yet, still seems to be processing where he is at the moment.”

“Alright, heading over there now,” Hakyeon replied, finally extricating himself from 9 and hefting the long, limp body into his arms to carry him back to bed. After tucking him back under the blanket and giving his hair one last pat, Hakyeon left to go check up on Subject 10. Hopefully this one would be at least a little more coordinated than his brother, or they’d have quite a time transporting them from one location to another until they finally got the hang of walking.

“You think this one will be as clumsy as 9?” Jaehwan asked as Hakyeon walked the short distance down the hall to the closet 10 was being stored in. “Their centers of gravity are comparable, after all.”

“Let’s hope not,” Sanghyuk said before Hakyeon could reply. “I don’t fancy having to piggyback both of them everywhere for the foreseeable future.”

Hakyeon rolled his eyes fondly as he entered the second supply closet and shut the door behind him. As he turned, deep, sapphire blue eyes immediately locked with his, and he paused instinctively at the intensity of the hybrid’s gaze. Subject 10 studied him for a couple seconds before pushing himself into a sitting position, movements slow but sure. Once he was within arm’s reach, he stretched out his hand and grabbed hold of a support beam holding up a nearby series of empty shelves.

“Is he-?” began Jaehwan incredulously, before a litany of shushes drowned him out.

Deliberately, painstakingly, Subject 10 pulled himself to his feet, using the shelving as leverage. His muscles visibly trembled with exertion, and sweat glistened on his brow, but he persevered. Finally, after about five minutes, he stood on his own two feet, albeit shakily, locking eyes with Hakyeon once again. There was a fearlessness, a boldness to Subject 10’s gaze that had been completely absent in the other three’s. A challenge, almost. Hakyeon knew instinctively that winning this one over would be much more difficult than the previous ones.

10 wobbled dangerously, his legs threatening to give out beneath him, and Hakyeon instinctively stepped and grabbed his hands to steady him. 10 stared back at him interestedly, and Hakyeon became aware that the hybrid stood almost at eye level with him. Hakyeon told himself he wasn’t intimidated and concentrated on meeting 10’s gaze and projecting as many calm and serene vibes as he could. 

10 was the first to break eye contact, glancing down at their clasped hands. He brought one of Hakyeon’s hands up to his face, sniffing interestedly at it. He then opened his mouth and unceremoniously sunk his teeth deep into the space between Hakyeon’s thumb and forefinger, not quite hard enough to break the skin, but most definitely enough to hurt. 

Hakyeon gasped at the sharp burst of pain and instinctively tried to yank his hand away, but 10 refused to let go, simply staring up at him with that icy, sapphire gaze. Ignoring the concerned voices in his earpiece, Hakyeon narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. This had gone quite far enough.

Without breaking eye contact, he grasped 10’s other hand tighter, brought it up to his own mouth, and bit down _hard_. 10 yelped in surprise, the first vocalization Hakyeon had ever heard him make, releasing Hakyeon’s hand and jerking his own away in the process. He gave Hakyeon a deeply offended look, which morphed quickly into a thoughtful one. After a few seconds, he reached for Hakyeon’s hand again, and despite his trepidation, Hakyeon let him have it. 10 carefully examined the indentations his teeth made in Hakyeon’s skin, comparing them to the marks on his own hand, and then brought Hakyeon’s hand up to his mouth once more. Hakyeon winced, fully expecting the cycle to repeat itself… but 10 bit gently this time, barely exerting any pressure on Hakyeon’s skin.

Hakyeon smiled approvingly and bit 10’s hand again as well, making sure to exert the same amount of pressure. 10 let go and regarded Hakyeon for a couple more seconds before finally smiling back, seeming satisfied. The expression transformed his entire face from an intense, almost cold expression to something warm and open and incredibly sweet.

10’s legs chose that moment to finally give out from underneath him. He collapsed against Hakyeon with a squeak of surprise and began to fall to the ground… and then Hakyeon caught him. 10 gazed up at him in open awe and adoration, and plastered himself to Hakyeon’s side as he lowered them both to sit on 10’s sleeping pallet safely.

“Come around already, have you?” Hakyeon smiled, ruffling the hybrid’s pastel pink hair fondly, sending up a distinct scent of roses into the air. “Good, I’m glad. I wasn’t looking forward to more bites.”

10 leaned greedily into his touch and gave a content, happy whine. Hakyeon laughed and took the hint, continuing to stroke 10’s hair as he snuggled closer, resting his forehead against the hollow of Hakyeon’s neck and throwing an arm around his chest, hugging him like an oversized teddy bear. He fell asleep almost immediately, and Hakyeon couldn’t blame him whatsoever. He’d be dead tired, too, if he’d just stood up for so long after never using his leg muscles before. After a minute of blessed silence had passed, pandemonium broke out over the commlink.

“Holy crap, hyung, that was _amazing_,” Jaehwan gushed. “You sure showed him who’s boss!”

“Did you see how he stood up like that without any prompting?” Hongbin said excitedly. “And here we thought he’d be just as uncoordinated as 9!”

“I can’t believe that just happened,” came a shaky voice that sounded like Wonshik’s.

“Do you think it will be safe to introduce him to the others?” Taekwoon was asking in concern. “He seems so strong-willed…”

“Alright, everyone, settle down, settle down,” Sanghyuk’s voice broke over the din. Good, at least _someone_ was seeing the pained glare Hakyeon was sending them through the security camera. “Let’s not deafen him, okay?”

“_Thank_ you, Sanghyuk,” Hakyeon said with as much dignity as he could muster from his current position of being used as a living body pillow. “Okay, most pressing question first; call me overly optimistic, but I don’t think introducing Subject 10 to the others will be a huge problem. He’s not a bad or aggressive sort, I think he just needs more hierarchy structure than the others have so far.”

“Ah, to know who the alpha dog is, so to speak, I get it,” Jaehwan said.

“Bit of an outdated term, but essentially, that’s correct. For example, some dogs need to be shown who the leader of “the pack” is right off the bat, or else they’ll automatically try to fill the position themselves. I think that might have been what he was trying to do with me before I showed I give as good as I get. Should the need arise, you all will need to be prepared to show him you can do the same. Just so he knows we’re the ones in charge here, not him.”

There was a general murmur of assent from the others before Taekwoon spoke up again. “Is there anything else you need to do in there, Hakyeon? I don’t mean to rush you, but 9 and 10 took longer than we expected to wake up, and it’s almost time for Subjects 7 and 8’s morning routine, so…”

Hakyeon glanced at his watch, grimaced slightly, and reluctantly began the process of disentangling himself from a bear hug for the second time that day. “So it is. Alright, Taekwoon, meet me down here in a couple minutes. Jaehwan, start on frequency sequencing for the begonias, and keep an eye on 9 and 10 in case they wake up ahead of schedule. Wonshik, you can resume work on your latest batch of potions, and Hongbin and Sanghyuk, you start going over the data from the preliminary physical. That should keep us occupied until it’s time to introduce 9 and 10.”

“You want any of us on standby for that, hyung?” Sanghyuk asked.

“Of course. I’m optimistic, not stupid.” Hakyeon’s tone turned mischievous. “Besides, we’ll need someone to piggyback Subject 9 in case he can’t get the hang of walking right off the bat, so thanks for volunteering yourself, Hyukkie, Taekwoon and I appreciate it.”

“Why do I even bother opening my big mouth anymore…”

* * *

About an hour later, Taekwoon and Hakyeon were in the break room, playing fetch with 7 and 8 with Hakyeon’s red stress ball. Well, Taekwoon was playing with 7. 8 had tired of the game about ten minutes earlier, and crawled over to where the scientists sat, ratty blanket-rag in tow. There, he clambered onto Hakyeon’s lap, curled up, and promptly went back to sleep. (Taekwoon had looked very jealous, while Hakyeon tried not to feel too smug.) 7 also seemed to be flagging now, too, and Hakyeon suspected it wouldn’t be too long before they had to put both hybrids back in their containment units for a long nap.

“Hey, hyung,” Jaehwan’s voice cut in over his earpiece. “9 and 10 woke up about ten minutes ago. 10 especially seems to be getting pretty antsy. Might want to get over there before he tries standing up again and gives himself a concussion.”

  
“Understood. I’ll be right there,” Hakyeon said, hefting 8’s unconscious body into his arms.

“9 and 10?” Taekwoon asked, hesitating before throwing the stress ball again. At Hakyeon’s nod, he pocketed the stress ball and held his arms out for 8. “Go. I can take it from here. Hyuk and I will meet you in about twenty minutes.”

Hakyeon gave him a grateful smile, handed over Subject 8, gave 7 a parting pat on the head, and left the room at a brisk walk. Figuring it would probably be better to move 10 first than force 9 to walk or move around before he was ready, he headed to the younger hybrid’s closet. Upon entering, he was greeted by a wide, delighted smile.

“Hey, baby,” Hakyeon cooed, extending a hand to the creature in greeting. “Did you miss me?” He laughed aloud when 10 immediately grabbed his hand and nibbled at his index finger. “I’ll take that as a yes. Ready to go meet your elder brother?”

Subject 10 barely had time to tilt his head bemusedly before Hakyeon grasped his other hand and pulled him to his feet. The hybrid squeaked in surprise and overbalanced before Hakyeon caught him. Hakyeon slung 10’s arm over his shoulder, holding his wrist firmly with one hand, and slipped his other arm around his waist to support him. He had to pull 10 along with him at first, but he went slowly and methodically, and 10 soon caught on. By the time they reached 9’s closet, he was walking under his own power, though he still had a problem with overbalancing at times, and would have repeatedly fallen headfirst into the floor if not for Hakyeon’s firm grip on him.

9 let out an excited trill once Hakyeon opened the door and he saw who it was, his smile crinkling his eyes shut adorably. He tried to crawl off his bed to approach the scientist, but predictably ended up taking an ungraceful spill onto the linoleum instead.

“Poor thing,” Hakyeon said sympathetically, easing Subject 10 down to sit on the floor before crossing the room to help Subject 9 up into a sitting position. 9 immediately latched onto him and curled into his side, giving a little bark as he did so and glaring up at Hakyeon reproachfully. “I’m sorry, dear,” Hakyeon said, apologetically running his fingers through his hair. “I had other things to take care of. I’m back, now, though, and look! I brought a friend with me.”

He gestured to 10, who had started to creep closer, eyes fixed squarely on 9. 9 went very still as amber brown met sapphire blue, and pressed nearer to Hakyeon as 10 came even closer, until he was barely half a meter away from the taller hybrid. Very deliberately, 10 reached out and poked 9’s cheek, glancing up at Hakyeon in wonder. Hakyeon grinned.

“Yes, he’s quite handsome, isn’t he?”

10 chirred and reached up with his other hand to squish 9’s cheeks between his palms, giggling at the other’s expression. 9, however, wasn’t having as good a time, and looked progressively more and more annoyed as 10 began to squish and stretch his cheeks. After he’d taken as much manhandling as he could tolerate, he shoved 10 away with a warning growl. The shove wasn’t harsh or violent, just enough to get 10 out of his personal space bubble, but it was still startling to witness.

10 looked bewildered at first, before that bewilderment abruptly turned to excitement, and he pushed 9 back, grinning widely. The two stared at each other for a long, charged moment, and Hakyeon started to worry he would need to separate them before things could escalate further… but then 9 started to smile back. He shoved 10 again, and 10 promptly tackled him. Hakyeon barely managed to dodge in time and sequestered himself near the door as the two tall hybrids started to tussle in earnest, laughing and yelping and babbling at each other just like 7 and 8 had done when they’d first met. Hakyeon noticed 10 got a few nips in on 9’s arms and shoulders, and he was about to step in to scold him, but 9 gave as good as he got and quickly earned 10’s respect. It was all, frankly, very adorable. Hakyeon would have to go save the security camera footage to a private folder on his desk persacom later.

Eventually, 9 and 10 tired themselves out, remembered Hakyeon existed, and crawled over to collapse on either side of him. Well, 10 did, anyway. While Hakyeon was pleased to see that 9 was doing marginally better at crawling, he still struggled with it, and after his second time falling over, the scientist took pity on the creature and moved a little closer to him.

After both hybrids were situated, 10 reached out across Hakyeon’s lap for 9’s hand and grabbed hold of it, grinning at him companionably and uttering a stream of gibberish. 9 answered him back, surprisingly enough, and they were soon chattering back and forth, almost like they were having a conversation. Subject 9 had never really vocalized before aside from his previous soft hums and chirrs, but even those had been enough to suggest that his voice would be relatively deep, maybe even deeper than Subject 8’s, so Hakyeon wasn’t too taken aback when that turned out to be exactly the case. What Hakyeon did find surprising, however, was Subject 10’s voice. While he could certainly crank up the volume if he wanted to, his natural speaking tone was light and soft, almost airy. It was so at odds with his appearance that Hakyeon found himself doing a double take nearly every time 10 made any kind of prolonged vocalization.

“Hakyeon?” A knock came at the door, drawing the immediate attention of the hybrids. “Are you in there? Is everything alright?”

“Come in, Taekwoon, it’s fine,” Hakyeon called. He patted 9’s shoulder comfortingly as he pressed closer, and caught hold of 10’s wrist as he sat up straight, eyes focused intently on the door as he moved slightly in front of Hakyeon and 9 (and Hakyeon didn’t think it was possible to be more fond of him than he already was, but apparently he was wrong).

“Oh good, we checked the other closet and it was empty, so we figured you’d come here instead,” came Sanghyuk’s voice as the door opened, and Taekwoon peeked in, eyes going soft at the sight of their creations. “Well, they _seem_ to be behaving themselves if nothing else,” Sanghyuk continued, as Taekwoon eagerly approached the hybrids, crouching down to present his hand to 10, who was closest.

10 accepted the offering, seeming fascinated by the alchemist’s rings before he began to gnaw lightly on his fingers. Taekwoon looked charmed and gently stroked his pink hair, prompting a happy warble from the creature. Upon seeing this, 9 tentatively peeled himself away from Hakyeon’s side to investigate this new person himself. As 10 was still blithely chewing on the fingers of his left hand, Taekwoon offered his right to 9. 9 hesitantly took it, inspected it, and then stared mutely up at Taekwoon like he was waiting for something. As Taekwoon and Hakyeon exchanged confused glances, 9 took matters into his own hands and delicately placed Taekwoon’s hand, palm side down, on his head.

“Call me crazy, but I think the sprout wants pets, hyung,” Sanghyuk observed from the door. Taekwoon’s eyes went wide with realization and pure happiness, and he obligingly carded his fingers through 9’s hair. 9 immediately relaxed and began humming quietly to himself in contentment. Hakyeon had to stifle an unbecoming squeal behind his hands at the adorable sight. Sanghyuk, meanwhile, rolled his eyes. “Weirdos. Both of you.”

* * *

After they finally managed to pry the tall hybrids away from their new favorite person (no, Hakyeon was _not_ jealous) and introduced them to Sanghyuk, the three scientists got down to the business of getting them down to the med center in one piece. Hakyeon took Subject 10, while Taekwoon and Sanghyuk supported Subject 9 between them. Good thing, too, because 9 was even worse at walking than he was at crawling. Sanghyuk gave up halfway there and demanded Taekwoon help him up on his back so they wouldn’t take an hour to go forty meters, and carried him the rest of the way there. 9 seemed to quite enjoy being carried, and beamed beatifically at the world from his new vantage point the entire time.

10, meanwhile, was already well on his way to becoming a pro at the walking business. By the time they reached the med center, it was all Hakyeon could do to stop him from scrambling off to investigate every little thing that piqued his interest (aka all of them), especially since Hakyeon couldn’t just pick him up and tote him around the same way he could 7 or 8. He breathed a sigh of relief once they all safely entered the med center. Jaehwan, drawn by the sound of the door opening, came out to greet them.

“Hey, guys!” he said, motioning them all into the examination room where Hongbin and Wonshik waited. “How did walking lessons go?”

“No casualties,” Sanghyuk said, Taekwoon helping Subject 9 off his back. “Yet.” 9 wobbled dangerously as his bare feet came in contact with the floor, but he somehow miraculously remained standing. Sure, that was probably due in large part to Taekwoon’s steadying hand wrapped around one of his arms, but progress was progress.

“Sorry for making you so big, kid,” Jaehwan said to a thoroughly overwhelmed 9 as Taekwoon and Sanghyuk helped him onto one of the examination tables. He patted him on the shoulder apologetically as 9 cocked his head slightly to one side with an intent expression that Hakyeon was beginning to grow very familiar with. “You’ll grow into those long limbs soon, don’t you worry.” He blinked as 9 reached out and patted him on the shoulder as well. “Um…?”

“He picks things up fast,” Hakyeon grinned from where he was getting Subject 10 situated on his own table. “Well, things that aren’t related to fine motor skills, that is.”

“Well, can’t all be good at everything, now can we?” Hongbin said, approaching with his tray of medical instruments and charts. “Now, hyung, if you would be so kind as to keep Subject 10 from eating his shirt in the next few minutes, I’ll take their vitals and we can move onto the more intensive scans…”

Between 10’s boundless enthusiasm and 9’s intense curiosity, keeping them compliant and occupied for their checkups was an ordeal in and of itself. About halfway through the process, the sound of wood snapping followed by a stifled oath had Hakyeon turning from where he was removing the collar of 10’s shirt from his mouth for probably the fourth time to see Hongbin grab a broken tongue depressor out of 9’s hands.

“This is what you get for letting the accident-prone one play with things,” he muttered, giving a sheepish-looking Wonshik the stink eye. He pulled open a nearby supply drawer to reveal canisters of cotton balls, more tongue depressors and a large roll of the paper that was normally used to cover the examination tables when they were in use. He dumped the broken stick into it, retrieved another one, and crossed the room to repeat the process with 10 while Sanghyuk and Wonshik got the brain scanner ready.

Hakyeon could almost _see_ the wheels turning in Subject 9’s head as he stared at the drawer Hongbin had tossed the broken tongue depressor into. He realized what was about to happen a split second before it did, but he was too far across the room to intervene in time as 9 grabbed the edge of the drawer and tugged violently. It slid open obediently, revealing the contents within. Without missing a beat, 9 grabbed at the thing closest to him, which happened to be the roll of paper, eyes growing round in delight as it crinkled and tore in his fists. As he pulled it toward him, more of the paper unrolled, spilling onto his lap and the floor in crumpled tatters. By that time, Hakyeon had collected himself enough to rush over and restrain him from causing further mayhem as Wonshik swooped in to gather up the pile of crumpled and torn paper on the floor.

“_Seriously_?!” Hongbin snapped, seeing the mess that had been made of his supply drawer in the few seconds his back had been turned. “Can the rest of you not stop these things from wrecking my med center for _fifteen seconds_?”

“He didn’t mean any harm, Hongbin,” Hakyeon said defensively, putting a comforting arm around 9’s shoulders as his smile faded and he instinctively shrunk away from the doctor’s ire. “It’s only some paper. Besides, how was anyone to know that he’d be able to figure out how to open a drawer after seeing one operate only once?”

Hongbin’s incensed glare faded, replaced by a sudden thoughtful, calculating look. Hakyeon wasn’t sure he liked the look of it “That’s very true…”

“Hongbin, no,” Hakyeon said in response to his friend’s change in expression.. “No IQ tests until they’re all out and settled in, we talked about this.”

“Hey, just because I’m not allowed to pick his brain _now_ doesn’t mean I can’t think about the best way to do it when the time comes, you know.”

Jaehwan let out a dramatic groan. “Hongbin, I hope you know how creepy you sound when you say stuff like that.”

Hongbin grinned, shark-like. “Of course, why do you think I do it?” He wasn’t fast enough to dodge the smack Taekwoon gave his shoulder.

* * *

The rest of the checkup passed uneventfully, and Hongbin prescribed both hybrids a clean bill of health aside from their healing minor injuries from the canister detachment process and the muscle atrophy that would eventually go away with enough exercise. They even picked up drinking much faster than 8 and 7 had. The scientists had learned their lesson and gave them water bottles right off the bat, so it only took 9 a bit of trial and error before he figured out how they worked, and 10 quickly followed his lead. After they’d finished their water, the scientists decided to skip the greenhouses for now, given the issues that had arisen the last time that had been attempted, and go straight to mana harvesting

“10 first,” Hakyeon decided, helping the pink-haired hybrid into the glass case as Sanghyuk fired up the extractor. “He has a little too much energy for his own good right now.”

10 paced around the small enclosure like a caged animal after Hakyeon shut the door, looking perturbed but not exactly scared. As the machine siphoned away half his magic, his pacing grew slower, and he began to rub at his eyes and shake his head violently, like he was trying to stay awake. He still managed to stay standing, however, and when the procedure finished and Taekwoon opened the door for him, he got out under his own power, albeit slowly. He leaned into Taekwoon’s side and started chewing absently on the scientist’s shirt sleeve. Taekwoon simply let him do it and put an arm around him, which elicited a drowsy, sweet smile.

“So, is it sheer cussed stubbornness that keeps him standing, or is he just tougher than the other two?” Sanghyuk asked as they all crowded around to see how many crystals they’d harvested from 10.

“Well, he did just get his nutrient water and hasn’t had as much time to burn off the energy, so it doesn’t surprise me he wouldn’t be as tired yet,” Hakyeon pointed out studying the eleven mana crystals with satisfaction.

“How in the world does he have as much mana as _Taekwoon-hyung_?” Sanghyuk grumbled incredulously, slamming the bin shut with more force than necessary and firing up the extractor for the second round. “I swear, if the other one has more mana than Jaehwan-hyung just like 7...”

Hakyeon studiously ignored him, lifted 9 into the device, and set him down on the floor. 9 immediately looked deeply concerned once the door was closed on him, and pushed himself onto his knees, putting his hands on the glass to steady himself. He gazed up at the scientist imploringly, and Hakyeon had to fight down the urge to open the case right back up again. “Let’s just get this over with.”

The condenser coils flared, and 9 flinched, lost his balance, and tipped over onto the floor of the enclosure. Instead of trying to right himself, he simply curled up on his side in a trembling ball, breathing hard, wide eyes darting here, there, and everywhere, like he was desperately searching for a way out.

  
“Is he claustrophobic?” Taekwoon asked, alarmed.

“Sure looks like it,” Sanghyuk said grimly. “This could be a problem.”

“Let’s not jump to the worst possible conclusion,” Hakyeon said, trying to stay positive. “Maybe he just needs some time to get used to the extraction devise, and once he sees it’s not dangerous, he’ll get over his fear.” The mana extractor chimed, and Hakyeon opened the door as soon as he could. “There now, no harm dOOONE-!”

The rest of his sentence was cut off by 9 lunging at him the second the door opened and wrapping his long arms around his neck, burying his face in his chest. Hakyeon was nearly knocked clean off his feet by the force of the impact, but somehow managed to stay standing, hands instinctively coming up to support his sudden passenger as he staggered under his weight. 9 whimpered, clinging with his legs as well as his arms as Hakyeon lifted him up, and Hakyeon wheezed as the tight grip forced most of the breath out of his lungs.

“Need help, hyung?” Sanghyuk asked, looking torn between amusement and concern.

“No, nope, I got it, I’m good,” Hakyeon ground out, shifting his grip on the large body in his arms to better support him, until he was carrying 9 like an oversized koala. With as much dignity as he could muster, he asked, “How many mana crystals?”

“Fourteen.” At Hakyeon’s raised eyebrow at his tone, Sanghyuk rolled his eyes. “Look, hyung, that’s twice _my_ mana levels. All I’m saying is, if their magic goes haywire and blows up the building, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” 

“You get full ‘I told you so’ privileges if they blow us all up, Sanghyuk,” Hakyeon sighed, carrying 9 back into the Lower Laboratory. The others followed behind him. “But in the meantime, do you want to go get 7 and 8 so we can introduce them to these two before they fall asleep?”

“No. But I will.” Sanghyuk trotted past them further on down the hall.

“Bring them to the break room!” Hakyeon called after his retreating back.

He and Taekwoon reached the break room in a couple minutes. 10 was very intrigued by the new, relatively large space and dropped onto all fours to faster explore it. 9 watched him go, and started to wriggle in Hakyeon’s arms, clearly wanting to follow. Hakyeon gladly set him on the floor and sat beside Taekwoon as they watched their creations wander around at their own pace, looking at the chairs, the couches, the pictures on the walls, the card tables, and the (thankfully child- and shatterproof) glass case where multiple figurines, toys, antiques, and awards were displayed.

A couple minutes later, Sanghyuk showed up, lugging a hybrid under each arm like a sack of potatoes. Both were having the time of their lives, judging from their giggles and wide smiles. The racket immediately drew the attention of 9 and 10, who crawled over to investigate as Sanghyuk dumped 8 and 7 on the shaggy throw rug in front of the large, fullscreen TV and sat down on the couch arm beside Hakyeon.

Despite his excitement to see how the two pairs of hybrids would interact, Hakyeon couldn’t help but feel slightly worried about the situation, too, given the sheer disparity of size between them. Still, there would likely be no better time to introduce them, since the younger pair were still weak from getting their mana drained. The size difference became even more apparent as both pairs got within touching distance of each other, with 9 and 10 towering over the diminutive 7 and 8. However, this didn’t seem to deter the two one bit, with 7 boldly going up to 10 and trying to get a closer look at his pink hair. 8 decided to introduce himself to 9 first, pressing up against his side and smiling his most winning, crinkle-eyed smile. 9 seemed thoroughly charmed by this and enfolded the small hybrid in a hug, cuddling him like a stuffed toy.

Meanwhile, 7’s efforts to pull 10’s head down far enough to touch his hair had devolved into a full-blown wrestling match, which 9 and 8 somehow got pulled into. Chaos descended in the break room for a while, and there were a couple times Hakyeon thought he and the others might have to intervene, but things eventually settled down again. All four hybrids seemed to have become fast friends by the time they did, giggling and babbling among themselves companionably.

Currently, the two larger hybrids were cuddling a smaller one each, tired but content. 10 was in a biting mood again, and gnawed on 7’s shoulder while holding him in a tight grip and leaning most of his body weight on him. 7 seemed alright with it at first, but soon tried to wriggle away, grimacing in discomfort. 10 was much stronger and bigger than him, though, and easily managed to hold him in place. When one particularly hard chomp to his shoulder, right over a healing tube extraction site, made poor 7 cry out in pain, Hakyeon moved to split them up so 10 could calm down.

Before he could get further than off the couch, however, 8 beat him to the punch. The small creature squirmed out of 9’s grip with a short, strident bark, and nipped 10 sharply on the arm. This startled 10 so much that he let go of 7 just enough for 8 to pull him away. 8 clambered back into 9’s lap, pulling 7 along with him. He gave 10 a narrow-eyed, disapproving glare over his shoulder before deliberately turning his back on him and snuggling into 9’s chest, cuddling 7 protectively.

The scientists simply stared at the unfolding scene incredulously. Where had this come from? 8 had seemed so patient and easygoing before. Apparently, though, even he had his limits.

“Guess we know who takes after you, hyung,” Sanghyuk murmured into Hakyeon’s ear.

10, meanwhile, looked completely baffled at this sudden turn of events. When he tried to approach the other three, 8 growled at him warningly. 10 flinched, whimpered, and crouched low to the ground, looking crushed. If he’d had a tail, it would have surely been between his legs as he inched forward on all fours to nudge his head against 8’s leg, whimpering low in his throat and gazing up at him pleadingly. At this pitiful show of contrition, soft-hearted 8 forgave him immediately and accepted him back into the fold with a magnanimous pat on the head. 10 sprang up in sheer happiness and pulled the tiny hybrid into a big hug before giving 7 an apologetic cheek nuzzle, which kicked off another round of energetic wrestling.

A few minutes later, all four hybrids lay in a haphazard pile on the rug, sound asleep, exhausted from the day’s excitement. 9 lay at the bottom, curled around 8, who in turn held one of 10’s hands. 10 chewed lightly on the index finger of his other hand as he slept, lying half on top of the other two, and 7 snored contently from his sprawled position on the very top of the pile. None of them made so much as a peep as the scientists carried them to their containment units to sleep away the rest of the evening.

* * *

_Notes:_

_\- [<strike>Eunwoo</strike>/Subject 9](https://66.media.tumblr.com/332f90b7d8bcf5752bb65e0de8276dd2/tumblr_pkrjlrU25J1xmr97ko3_540.png) was crossed with a [hepatica](https://sarahraven.images.blucommerce.com/sarahraven/product/200349_1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&bluhash=7046143444c5e47e04b2aa2a2ab259a8&w=500&h=550&fit=crop&s=f4af042e16e1d03061e66c12dc7f8b18). Hepaticas symbolize confidence and trust in the language of flowers, and are one of the first wildflowers to bloom in springtime. They also can be used medicinally for their astringent, diuretic, and antibiotic properties._

_\- [<strike>Moonbin</strike>/Subject 10](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ed/4d/92/ed4d92e7cc932fb43a574e80b6065bde.jpg) was crossed with a [pink rose](https://cdn3.volusion.com/zmypa.bvvnu/v/vspfiles/photos/WA19338DPK-2.jpg). Pink roses are associated with ideas such as love, gratitude, elegance, grace, gentleness, joy, sweetness, and poetic romance, and are often given as symbols of admiration or appreciation._

_\- That N could probably bench press Ravi [is not an exaggeration](https://thisisjustforfunval.tumblr.com/post/162649733639/navi-proving-that-the-photo-below-from-2015-was)._

_\- Moonbin has a [well-documented](https://moobinthighs.tumblr.com/post/146800352298/14-of-binu-eunwoo-introducing-the-actual) [biting habit](https://binuforthewinu.tumblr.com/post/167854940306/someone-needs-to-feed-bin-and-save-mj) irl, which of course translates into his plant counterpart as well._

_\- One of the things I find most charming about Eunwoo and Moonbin’s friendship is the [sheer disparity in their vocal timbres](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0Tix7I_UPw&) when they speak together, especially Moonbin’s. It’s honestly really cute._


	5. The Aster and the Hyacinth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all very much for waiting so patiently for an update! I really wanted to get this posted sooner, but computer problems, current events, writer's block, and Life in general conspired against me to delay it longer than I would have liked.

“Hongbin!” Hakyeon’s strident, panicked shout rang through the Nursery, drawing everyone’s immediate attention. The head scientist sat on the floor, lap and arms full of their newborn fifth hybrid. Subject 11 had coughed up all the fluid in his lungs the way all the others had, but his breaths still came in rapid, labored pants, almost like he was hyperventilating, his chest heaving with every breath his lungs strained to take. Jaehwan knelt on the other side of Hakyeon, holding an oxygen mask over 11’s nose and mouth, but it did nothing to help the hybrid breathe easier. “Hongb-!”

“No need to shout, hyung, I’m right here,” Hongbin replied tersely, kneeling down across from Hakyeon beside Jaehwan and whipping out his stethoscope. The other three scientists nervously hovered nearby, the air in the room tense and charged like Hakyeon had hoped it never would be again.

“What’s wrong with him, Hongbin?” he asked, trying to keep the visceral panic out of his voice as 11 shook in his arms, his desperate, shallow wheezes tearing Hakyeon’s heart to little shreds. _Not another one, please, not another one, it was going so well, we’d finally got it right, **please**-_

Hongbin’s face darkened as he moved the stethoscope around 11’s chest, Hakyeon desperately trying to hold his convulsing form still enough that the doctor could get an accurate reading. Hongbin then pushed aside the oxygen mask, grabbed 11’s chin in one hand, and pulled his lips back with the other. He swore under his breath when bluish gums came into view.

“He’s not getting enough oxygen,” he said. “Probably something like transient tachypnea, if I had to guess.”

“Not all of us spent six years in medical school, Hongbin,” Jaehwan snapped impatiently, stress making his words sharper than they would otherwise be.

“The fluid’s not draining from his lungs properly, and he’s suffocating,” Sanghyuk clarified helpfully before Hongbin could reply. “And I suggest that if we don’t want to lose him, we get him up to the med center and on a ventilator ASAP.”

“On it,” Wonshik, bless him, said immediately, reaching down to gather Subject 11’s trembling body into his strong arms. Hakyeon relinquished him with some reluctance and scrambled to his feet as soon as he could get his legs under him, following his colleague over to the gurney where Wonshik laid the hybrid delicately down and Sanghyuk and Hongbin sprang into action. Hakyeon barely had time to grab hold of 11’s hand (_oh God, his **skin** was turning blue now_-) before Wonshik was wheeling the gurney out of the Nursery as fast as his legs would carry him.

* * *

About forty minutes later, Hongbin approached the other five scientists, who had congregated around the sickbed where their ailing hybrid lay in sedated slumber. His chest rose and fell steadily as the tube in his windpipe delivered gentle puffs of air to his lungs every couple of seconds from the ventilator at the head of the bed. Sanghyuk stood close by in case 11 took a sudden turn for the worse again, while Taekwoon and Hakyeon had pulled up chairs to either side of the bed with Wonshik and Jaehwan hovering over their respective shoulders.

“So, Binnie,” Jaehwan said, visibly twitching from the effort to stand still and not wear a hole in the med center’s floor from pacing. “What’s the prognosis?”

Hongbin brandished the x-rays he’d spent the last ten minutes developing. “Definitely transient tachypnea, colloquially known as wet lung. It’s a condition that develops in newborn infants when their lungs can’t drain themselves of amniotic fluid quickly enough.” Hongbin tapped the x-ray he held with a finger. “Apparently, there was a slight defect that formed when Subject 11’s lungs were developing during the fetal stage, which led to him not being able to expel the perfluorocarbon as easily as the others.”

“A defect?” Hakyeon parroted guardedly, hand tightening around the hybrid’s limp, smaller one. “How bad a defect, exactly? I noticed the word ‘transient’ in your explanation; I assume it’s curable, since you don’t seem on the verge of panic?”

“You assume correctly. I didn’t see anything else that would impede his breathing in the x-rays, and his lymphatic system and bloodstream should remove any residual fluid from his lungs within the next day or two. Barring any unforeseen complications, they’ll process air just fine. They just need a little help for now.” Hongbin flashed them all a reassuring, dimpled smile, and Hakyeon nearly collapsed from sheer relief.

“So that’s it, then?” Taekwoon asked as everyone else in the room visibly relaxed as well. “He won’t have asthma or emphysema or brain damage or anything like that?”

“The odds are extremely slim. We’ll keep an eye on him just in case, but normally there aren’t any side effects when babies develop this condition, provided they’re treated in time. He shouldn’t be any different.”

“Thank every deity within hearing range,” Wonshik muttered, sinking down onto the bed behind Taekwoon and hiding his face in his hands, all the energy seeming to leave him at once. Hakyeon shared the sentiment. In fact, everyone seemed rather haggard despite the fact it wasn’t even 10 AM yet. Even Jaehwan, who’d always had the most energy out of all of them, leaned heavily against Hakyeon’s chair.

Hakyeon glanced back at the still figure in the bed, and found himself squeezing the hand in his again. After a moment had passed, he sighed and spoke. “I suppose we want to postpone taking Subject 12 out today, then?”

“Absolutely not,” Jaehwan said vehemently, to Hakyeon’s surprise. “My nerves are already shot, might as well get it over with.”

“I agree,” Hongbin said calmly. “We know what to look for now if Subject 12 ends up developing the same issue. The sooner they’re all out, the sooner we can begin proper testing, anyway.”

Trust Hongbin to be the practical one. Wonshik and Sanghyuk were nodding in assent, which just left Taekwoon.

“If you guys go down, I can stay here and keep an eye on Subject 11,” Sanghyuk offered. “I’ll clean him up and get started on his physical while you guys are away. If he takes a turn for the worse, I’ll ping Hongbin, but I think he should be the one on hand in case Subject 12 has complications.” 

“Makes sense,” Wonshik said thoughtfully. “Well, I’m in, if everyone else is.”

“Alright,” Hakyeon acquiesced, letting go of 11’s hand with reluctance. “Let’s go, then.”

Hongbin, Jaewhan, and Wonshik filed out of the med center, but Taekwoon didn’t stir from 11’s bedside. After having a brief, silent conversation with their eyes over Taekwoon’s head, Sanghyuk finally got the hint and retreated to the examination room under the pretense of retrieving more rags. As he went, Hakyeon circled around the bed and placed a hand on Taekwoon’s shoulder.

“Hey,” Hakyeon said quietly. “You okay?”

“We nearly lost him, Hakyeonnie,” Taekwoon murmured, reaching out to gently caress the pale lavender head that lay motionless on the pillow, still damp with drying suspension gel.

“What matters is that we didn’t,” Hakyeon replied, as much for his own comfort as Taekwoon’s. “He’s alive. He’s alive, and he’ll be fine soon enough.” Taekwoon swiped a hand over his eyes, and he drew in a shuddering breath. “You want to stay behind with Sanghyuk? I’m sure we could manage alright with just four of us.” 

Taekwoon shook his head stubbornly. “No, I want to be there. I just… I wish I could be in two places at once.”

“Don’t we all,” sighed Hakyeon. He patted Taekwoon’s shoulder once, then tugged lightly at his arm. “Come on. Subject 12 is waiting for us.”

* * *

Thankfully, Subject 12’s extraction went far smoother than 11’s had. When he fell from his empty canister into Wonshik’s waiting arms, he coughed up the fluid in his lungs with minimal prompting, and his raspy breathing soon became blessedly steady. After the preliminary checkup and chip activation, he was placed in one of the observation rooms to sleep off the sedatives while Hongbin returned to the med center, Wonshik left for his potions lab, and Hakyeon and Taekwoon departed to take care of the other four hybrids since the emergency with 11 had wreaked havoc with their schedules, leaving Jaehwan to keep an eye on the security cameras while continuing his frequencing spellwork.

8 and 10 were still asleep when the two scientists walked into the photosynthesis room, but 7 and 9’s wide, delighted smiles when they saw their caretakers soothed Hakyeon’s frazzled nerves like nothing had managed to do thus far. When Hakyeon opened 7’s cage to let him out, 7 immediately threw himself into his arms, chattering unintelligibly at him. Hakyeon couldn’t resist taking a moment to just hold him, burying his nose in soft, golden locks and inhaling a lungful of the earthy, herbal scent of chrysanthemums.

An hour later, after completing the hybrids’ normal morning routine and after a rousing game of fetch with Hakyeon’s stress ball (which was rapidly becoming quite battered), Taekwoon left to see if 10 and 8 had woken up yet, leaving Hakyeon to continue the game. However, 9 quickly tired of it. The tall hybrid had done his best to keep up with the indefatigable 7, but his clumsiness still made any attempt at prolonged locomotion difficult, and the poor thing surely had given himself multiple bruises by now. Finally, visibly panting and trembling with fatigue, he laboriously made his way over to where Hakyeon sat on the couch of the break room.

“Aw, are you tired?” Hakyeon said fondly as 9 slumped against his legs, pressing his face into the fabric of his pants with a groan. “I’m sorry, honey. You’ll get stronger with time, don’t you worry.”

He reached down and stroked 9’s hair for a few seconds before the hybrid crawled up onto the couch to be closer to the petting, curling up his long body into a compact ball and resting his head on Hakyeon’s leg. As Hakyeon continued stroking his hair, 9 soon fell asleep, snoring softly. Hakyeon huffed a soft laugh and tugged the spare blanket folded over the back of the couch (not Sanghyuk’s this time) to cover the hybrid up.

As he draped the blanket over 9’s slumbering form, Jaehwan’s voice crackled over his earpiece. “Hyung, 12 just woke up. Sprout looks kinda freaked out, too, might want to get over there pretty quick.”

Taekwoon chose that moment to enter the room, carrying 8 on his hip with one hand and leading 10 with the other. “Ah, Taekwoon, perfect timing,” Hakyeon said, easing himself out from under 9. “12 finally woke up. Would you be alright watching everyone on your own? I could get Wonshik on my way up if…”

“No, it’s alright. I think I can manage, and if I can’t, then I can always ping Wonshik’s persacom,” Taekwoon said, setting 8 down as 10 tugged away and scrambled across the room to tackle 7. The two immediately began tussling on the floor while 8 crawled over to Hakyeon at a much more leisurely pace, dragging his blanket behind him. The small hybrid latched onto his leg and beamed up at him.

“Hey, little one,” Hakyeon cooed, crouching down to pat him on the head. “Did you have a good rest?” 8 leaned into the caress happily and clumsily pulled himself to his feet to return the gesture, prompting a delighted chuckle from the geneticist as the small hand patted his own hair. 8 then noticed the slumbering 9 and reached over to curiously poke at his cheek.

“No,” Hakyeon said gently but firmly, pushing 8’s inquisitive hands away. “He’s _sleeping_. We don’t disturb people who are sleeping. We do this instead.” He carefully tucked the blanket securely around 9’s shoulders and leaned in to place a light kiss on his forehead. 8’s eyes flicked back and forth between 9 and Hakyeon calculatingly for a few seconds before he, too, leaned in and kissed 9 on the forehead, much to Hakyeon’s immense delight.

“Hyung, are you coming?” came Jaehwan’s voice in his earpiece again, ruining the moment. “Um… I don’t mean to rush you, but when I said that Subject 12 seemed kinda freaked out, that wasn’t hyperbole.”

“Got it, Jaehwan, I’ll be right there,” Hakyeon answered, good mood snuffed out by a sudden surge of worry. With a final parting pat on the head to 8, he left the room at a light jog, heading straight for the supply closet 12 was being kept in.

* * *

Easing open the door to the closet and peeking tentatively in, the first thing Hakyeon was struck by was how... _young_ Subject 12 looked. All the hybrids were technically young, of course, but Subject 12 looked barely older than a preteen, his long limbs gangly and oddly proportioned, as if they didn’t quite fit the rest of him just yet, his face soft and rounded like a child’s (and Hakyeon immediately strangled _that_ particular thought as soon as he had it). Large, greyish-blue eyes turned in his direction at the sound of the door opening, going wide and scared as they took him in. Subject 12 shuffled gracelessly backward from his sitting position, wedging his tall, lanky body into the corner, where he huddled, trembling pitifully. Soft whimpers filled the small room as he gazed up at Hakyeon in fear, those big blue eyes filling with tears.

Hakyeon’s heart wrenched at the sight. None of the others had reacted to his presence quite like this, not even 9, who had been the wariest of him at first. But, then again, none of their reactions had been quite the same, anyway. Each one of their creations had been unique in terms of personality so far, and their youngest clearly was an anxious, timid sort.

Keeping this in mind, he made sure to speak gently to the creature as he moved slowly and deliberately into the room, shutting the door behind him. “Hey, it’s okay, sweetie. I promise I’m friendly, there’s no need to be scared.”

Subject 12’s whimpers grew louder as Hakyeon approached him, still speaking softly and soothingly with one hand outstretched. The pragmatic part of Hakyeon’s brain blared warnings at him the whole time, loudly reminding him that he was approaching what amounted to a cornered, disoriented animal that was liable to lash out in perceived self-defense at any time. But, as Hakyeon got closer and terrified tears began to trickle down Subject 12’s cheeks, those thoughts gradually petered out, until all Hakyeon wanted to do right then gather the creature into his arms and hold him tight.

When he was a couple paces away from their youngest hybrid, Hakyeon knelt down and slowly reached out a hand toward him. Subject 12 flinched violently… and then his eyes went wide in shock as Hakyeon combed gentle fingers through his silvery, periwinkle hair. He did this a couple more times, then slowly sat on the floor and withdrew his hand, waiting to see what 12 would do. The hybrid looked torn between residual wariness and the pressing need for more physical contact, and in the end, the latter won out.

Emboldened by Hakyeon’s gentle coaxing, 12 unfolded his long, gangly body and slowly, gingerly crept forward, until finally the geneticist was able to pull him onto his lap. 12 stiffened for a moment, but the second Hakyeon enfolded him in his arms, the young hybrid all but melted into him, clinging tightly to him as Hakyeon tenderly wiped his tears away and tucked his head under his chin.

After a minute or two of soothing 12’s ruffled feathers, the hybrid was humming contently to himself, nuzzling Hakyeon periodically like a puppy, each movement sending up a heady, sweet, slightly spicy scent into the air. If he were physically capable of purring, Hakyeon was convinced he would be doing so, and he found it incredibly endearing. And then, once the atmosphere in the room had settled down a little, Hakyeon… felt something. A soft, fizzy sensation wafting against his skin, like bubbly sea foam washing up on a beach around bare feet.

Hakyeon blinked. Once. Twice. Glanced down at the hybrid in his arms, before staring blankly ahead at the wall.

“Jaewhan,” he said finally, faintly.

“Yeah, hyung?” was the immediate response.

“Who else is up there with you?”

“Just me right now. The docs are busy, Taekwoon’s taking care of the sprouts, and Wonshik’s in the middle of a video chat with Taemin, something about getting more cloudy sky roses from a supplier or something. What’s up?”

“So… you know how we dialed up the asterichondira production in Subject 12’s cells as high as it would go without it being outright life-threatening to see what the effects would be?”

“…Yeah?”

“I can feel his aura, Jaehwan. Without trying. He definitely isn’t trying to project it, either.”

A very loud, prolonged silence fell. Finally, “Well, damn.”

“Yeah.”

Another silence fell, shorter this time, before Jaewhan gave a low whistle. “And here they said that Kazakh guy was a one-in-a-generation magic prodigy. And look at us, we made one from scratch.”

Hakyeon snorted. “Don’t tell Sanghyuk; he’ll have an aneurysm, and we’ll never hear the end of it.”

“He’s gonna find out sometime, hyung.”

“And when he does, it’ll be because we break it to him _gently_. Preferably in a week or two. Speaking of gently.” He grimaced, shifting his leg underneath him, which was starting to fall asleep from 12’s weight on it. “Here, buddy, let me just-”

The moment he tried to remove 12 from his lap, however, the hybrid began to cry pitifully, looking up at him with such a betrayed, heartbroken look in those blue-grey eyes that Hakyeon immediately sat back down and wrapped him back up in his arms, murmuring contrite apologies all the while. He pointedly ignored Jaehwan’s snickering as 12 gave happy trill and trustingly snuggled closer to him, resting his cheek right above Hakyeon’s heart. So sue him, he’d had a very trying and stressful morning, and if his leg falling asleep was the price he had to pay for the peace of mind of at least one of his youngest hybrids today, then so be it.

* * *

Subject 12 finally fell asleep about fifteen minutes later. After tucking him back in to his sleeping pallet, Hakyeon limped out of the supply closet, trying not to grimace too much as pins and needles stabbed his entire leg. He decided his first course of action would be to check up on Taekwoon and the other four hybrids, and as he passed by his office on the way, the antique payphone inside rang. He paused, deliberated for a moment, and decided to answer it.

“Hello?”

“Boss!” came a lively voice from the other end of the line. “_Finally_, I’ve been trying to ping you for the last fifteen minutes.”

“Sorry, Suengkwan, it’s been… kind of a hectic morning,” Hakyeon replied, glancing sheepishly at the persacom he’d left on his desk to keep it safe from curious hybrid fingers, no doubt with an inbox full of messages. “It’s nothing too urgent, I hope?”

“If it was, I’d have already tried contacting your teammates, so no, not a matter of immediate life or death, but Minhyuk-hyung was pretty insistent I get a message to you directly. It’s about the glyph situation.”

Hakyeon frowned. “I thought the security team had gotten that taken care of a couple days ago.”

“They did, but another glyph went down this morning around 4 A.M., and Minhyuk took a team out to fix it a few hours ago. They should be done in about ten minutes, and he wanted to speak with you when he got back if you were available.”

“Alright, I’ll be up in a few minutes,” Hakyeon replied. “Thanks for your persistence, Seungkwan.”

“Anytime, boss.” The line went dead. With a sigh, Hakyeon hung up the phone and left his office, making sure to slip his persacom into his pocket in case one of his team needed to reach him while he was out. He also made sure to drop off the earpiece with Jaehwan and tell him where he was going so he could contact him the second Subject 12 woke up. He then left the main laboratory through the reinforced, triple-locked doors separating the science wing of the bunker from the rest of it. He navigated the pristine, white corridors until he reached the main corridor of the bunker, where turning left would take him to the med center and greenhouses, and turning right led into the rest of the facility.

Turning right, Hakyeon walked briskly through the expansive, opulent corridor, eyes brushing over the large, expensive paintings and photos hung on the walls and the carefully-tended flowerbeds and decorative trees and flowers tastefully placed at various intervals. As he came up on the cafeteria, a man dressed in the all black uniform of the security team came out, face obscured by the two large boxes precariously stacked on top of each other in his arms. As Hakyeon watched, the man’s foot caught on a planter in the middle of the corridor, and he tripped, sending the boxes and their contents flying.

Hakyeon hurried over to see if the man was alright, and as he approached, angry, muffled, English muttering reached his ears. “Joshua? Is that you?”

The American expatriate looked up in surprise from his hunched position on the floor, flushing slightly in embarrassment at getting so caught off guard in such an undignified manner. “Oh! Hello, hyung,” he replied in accented but perfectly understandable Korean. “Sorry, I, um…”

“It’s fine,” Hakyeon assured him, kneeling down to help him gather up the pouches of Radiation Elimination Drink scattered all over the floor. “Are you alright? Anything hurt?”

“Just my pride,” the younger man said ruefully, shrugging one shoulder.

“Where were you going in such a hurry?”

“We’re almost out of R.E.D. up in the security wing, so Jeonghan suggested we restock the supply closet before the away team gets back, especially since it’s one of the newbies’ first time out there.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I… may have overestimated my abilities. I didn’t remember the boxes being this large.”

“Here, let me help you out, then,” Hakyeon offered, dumping the last of the R.E.D. pouches into one of the boxes and picking it up. “I’m going that way myself.”

“Ah, going to see Minhyuk-hyung?” Joshua asked knowingly as he picked up the other box.

“What gave it away?” Hakyeon grinned, and they started walking down the halls, past the gymnasium, training center, and living quarters, which lead in turn to the facility’s rec room, library, and entertainment centers.

“You _only_ come around if you need to talk to Minhyuk nowadays, hyung.” Joshua’s handsome face took on an exaggerated pout. “You never call, you never write! We’re wasting away from loneliness, how could you abandon us all like this?”

“Hyung’s been very busy lately, Joshua,” Hakyeon explained patiently, feeling slightly flattered that they missed his presence that much. “But if I promise to come by more often once things settle down a little, will that make up for my misdeeds?”

Joshua sniffed loftily. “No, you need to come to our next game night, we won’t be satisfied with anything less.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Hakyeon laughed as the two turned a corner, the hallway opening up into a classily-furnished sitting room with a heavily-fortified door to the right and two smaller ones to the left. An antique phone booth stood in the corner next to the farthest door on the left side, surrounded by creeping, flowering vines winding up its sides and the brick walls around it, a leftover relic from the time the Sunflower Retreat had been a fortified, luxury mountain resort instead of a scientific research facility. Directly across the room, a long staircase with thick blast doors built into the ceiling on either side led up to the ground floor of the facility.

“Go on ahead, Joshua, I’ll wait with Seungkwan for the away team with the R.E.D.,” Hakyeon offered.

“Well, if you’re sure,” Joshua said easily. “See you later then, hyung.” With that, he flashed a badge to the door scanner for the security wing and stepped into another hallway before the door closed behind him.

Hakyeon walked over to the second door on the left, balancing the heavy box on his hip to have a hand free to knock on it. A metal plaque on the wall next to it read “Communications and Surveillance.” When he got no response after multiple knocks, Hakyeon rolled his eyes and opened the door himself.

“Oh, come _on_!” exclaimed a voice from inside as the door opened. “He set you right up for that serve, you idiot, _how could you miss it-_?! Oh, hi boss!”

“Hello, Seungkwan,” Hakyeon said wryly, leaning against the doorjamb. “Enjoying your volleyball game?”

“Eh, not really,” the younger man replied, taking his feet off the cluttered desk in front of him to sit up straight, adjusting his headset absently as a volleyball game played on one of the many, many screens behind him. They covered three of the four walls, showing various areas of the facility and the wastelands outside as well as various news channels from South Korea and around the world. In the spaces the screens didn’t occupy, an eclectic series of desks, tables, and shelves held a chaotic jumble of keyboards, microphones, switchboards, crystal balls, and sending tomes. “Team’s off their game this match for some reason. If they get their butts kicked maybe it’ll serve as a good wakeup call. But I can’t imagine you came over to listen to me natter about volleyball. What’s up? The away team just got back, if that’s what you came to ask; they should be out of decontamination in a few minutes.” 

“Actually, I wanted to ask about the glyph that went down,” Hakyeon said. “Did you get a look at what caused it?”

“Funny you should mention that.” Seungkwan’s normally open, animated face darkened. The expression didn’t suit him at all. “The camera monitoring that section of the perimeter died last night. The last transmission was around five hours before the glyph failed. I’d chalk it up to just bad luck, but given the fact that the exact same thing happened a couple days ago… well, you know what they say about once being chance, and twice being coincidence, but I don’t see the point in allowing this to become a trend.” His eyes narrowed in determination. “I put in a special order for some magic-resistant scry cameras first thing this morning, and the second Mingyu’s finished with them, I’m going out and installing them around every shielding glyph _myself_. _Then_ we’ll see if this really was just a massive storm of coincidences, or those shamblers are gearing up for something.” It was rare to see Seungkwan this annoyed with anything, but if there was one thing the communications specialist took seriously, it was the thought of anything threatening the facility and its inhabitants on his watch.

“Good thinking, Seungkwan,” Hakyeon said thoughtfully, trying to keep his alarm at this unsettling news from showing on his face. “You’ve worked hard today.”

“Ah, just doing my job, boss,” Seungkwan waved him off, back to his usual jovial self. “It’s what I’m here for. What’s that, though?” He pointed to the box in Hakyeon’s arms and then gave a dramatic gasp. “Is it for me?”

Hakyeon laughed aloud. “It’s R.E.D. for the away team, so no, not for you.”

Seungkwan’s face contorted into a grimace of disgust so quickly that it prompted another laugh from Hakyeon. “_Ugh_. More of that artificially-flavored sludge. You can keep it. Honestly, it’s been twenty years, you’d think they’d be able to make a flavor that _doesn’t_ taste like absolute sh-”

The distant slam of a door opening followed by muffled voice cut off the rest of Seungkwan’s sentence. “Guess that’s my cue to get back to work,” he said, peering around Hakyeon’s shoulder with a slightly disgruntled look. “Enjoy your meeting with Minhyuk-hyung.”

“Enjoy the rest of your volleyball game,” Hakyeon replied. “Your team just scored, I believe.”

“Really?” Seungkwan whirled around and then threw his arms up in the air in jubilation. “_Yes!_ Finally!”

Hakyeon chuckled and took that as his cue to leave, shutting the door quietly behind him. As he turned, a group of seven men reached the bottom of the flight of stairs. Four of them were on the short side, one was of average height, and there were two that towered over even Hakyeon himself. The tallest was being berated by a short man with vivid, reddish-orange hair that stood out like a firework amidst the drabber colors of their surroundings.

“-and I expect you to log twenty hours in the training room with Soonyoung before you even _think_ about setting foot outside again. There will _not_ be another repeat of this incident. Do I make myself _clear_?” Minhyuk said, as angry as Hakyeon had ever seen him.

“Yes, sir,” the harangued man said meekly, looking thoroughly intimidated even though Minhyuk barely came up to his shoulder. Eunkwang patted the man’s arm in a consoling manner, while Changsub, Seokmin, Jihoon, and Youjin just stood back and let the storm blow over.

“Good,” Minhyuk huffed. He then noticed Hakyeon, a smile breaking through the severe glower he’d previously worn. “Ah, Hakyeonnie, Seungkwan’s message got through, I see.”

“What’s in the box, hyung?” Seokmin asked eagerly as Hakyeon nodded, smiling. “Did you bring us something?”

“Indeed I did. Come get your R.E.D., everyone,” Hakyeon said, holding up the box with a dramatic flourish before glancing at Minhyuk curiously as he was swarmed by the others. “What’s this about an incident?”

“The skyscraper over there almost singlehandedly started another turf war with the gangsi,” Jihoon answered instead, pulling out a pack of watermelon smoothie R.E.D. He gave said skyscraper a deeply unimpressed side-eye (which might have partially been because he was nearly 35 entire centimeters taller than the diminutive mage).

The very tall man flushed and fidgeted in place under the scrutiny of so many eyes. “It had a griffin ghast, sir,” he explained to Hakyeon. “I’d never seen one before, and I, um. Kind of panicked. I didn’t know they could be tamed, so I thought it was going to eat us. I didn’t even see the gangsi riding it until I’d already shot at it.” He dropped into a deep bow. “I sincerely apologize for my blunder, it won’t happen again.”

“It’s an easy mistake to make, especially to someone unfamiliar with life in Blight zones,” Hakyeon said to the man, trying his best to put him at ease. “As long as no one was killed, I don’t think any harm was done. And I don’t believe we’ve met before. I’m-”

“Cha Hakyeon! It’s an honor, sir!” the other said eagerly, taking his proffered hand and dropping into another deep bow before straightening and snapping off a perfect military salute. “Park Seoham, at your service.”

“Newbie came in on the last supply transport along with the other three security guards we hired when YNB Cybernetics went belly up,” Minhyuk explained, having come over to stand at Hakyeon’s side. “I don’t know how they held down the position, though; I’ve never seen such jumpy security guards. Honestly, Youjin, I don’t know how you deal with rooming with them.”

“I survive, sir,” Youjin said mildly, a twinkle of amusement in his eye.

“Are you going to rummage in the box all afternoon, or are you actually going to pick something, hyung?” Seokmin cut in, looking in amusement at Changsub, who’d been pawing around in the box as the others had been talking.

“I swear, the manufacturing company is gypping us,” the spellweaver muttered, digging through the colored packets like a man on a mission. “I’m writing a strongly-worded letter to- aha!” He snatched up a lone purple packet, tucked almost at the very bottom of the box, and held it aloft in triumph.

“Why bother going to so much trouble when they all taste the same, which is disgusting?” Youjin asked in amusement, taking a yellow packet out of the box without even looking.

_“What?”_ Changsub exclaimed, indignant. “Everyone knows grape soda is the best flavor of R.E.D.” His face took on an impish look. “Although-”

“If you make yet another tired joke about there being no red R.E.D. flavor, hyung, we’re chucking you out the airlock without a hazmat suit,” Jihoon cut in, downing the last of the liquid in his packet and walking over to the entrance of the security wing without a backward glance.

“You kids today have no sense of humor,” muttered Changsub sulkily, twisting the top off the purple pouch and taking a large gulp. “Except you, Seokminnie, you’re alright.”

“Why, thank you, hyung!” Seokmin beamed, having selected a kiwi tea packet.

“Don’t encourage him, Seokmin!” came Jihoon’s voice from inside the security wing hallway as the two followed him in.

“Here, I’ll take this, Hakyeonnie,” Eunkwang offered, taking the box of R.E.D. from him. “I know you and Minhyuk must have a lot to talk about.”

“And I’ll make sure Seoham talks to Soonyoung ASAP, sir,” Youjin said, taking hold of the taller man’s elbow.

Minhyuk nodded. “Very well.” Seoham looked so downcast that Hakyeon felt sorry for him, but before he could say anything, Minhyuk added, “And Seoham. This isn’t a punishment. This is to make sure that once you go back out there, you’ll be ready to handle whatever the wastes throw at you, alright? You’re here to protect, and I’m here to make sure you can do that.”

Seoham nodded, perking up a little. “Yes, sir.”

Hakyeon nudged Minhyuk with his hip as the two were finally left alone in the room. “You softie.”

“Shut up.” Minhyuik nudged him back, grinning. “Walk with me.” Hakyeon followed his friend into his office in the security wing. He took a seat on the couch as Minhyuk downed his packet of blue orangeade R.E.D. in three gulps and grimaced. “The things we do to ensure magical death radiation doesn’t eat us alive from the inside out.” He tossed it into a trash can and sat down at his desk with a long sigh.

The two sat in companionable silence for a moment before Minhyuk raked a hand through his hair and sighed again. “So. How much did Seungkwan tell you?”

“Enough. You really think the gangsi are behind the glyph failures?”

“I can’t prove it definitively, but yes, I’m almost certain at this point. Doesn’t matter either way, though. Changsub and Eunkwang wove so many shielding wards around the airlock perimeter that it’d take any mage days to unravel them. That’s why we were out there for so long. If we have any more incidents after this, I’d be very surprised, but if we do, then we might have to hire even more security guards, which I know we likely can’t afford if we want to get competent help. But, beggars can’t be choosers, and we need all the help we can get out here. Especially since we’ll be losing Minghao and Junhui in a couple months because of that stupid edict.”

Hakyeon nodded, the thought of losing two of their best fighters making him glum all over again. “Bring it up to Director Hwang on Monday, but hopefully the gangsi can take a hint and it won’t come to that.”

“I’ll do that, yeah,” Minhyuk said, scribbling something on one of his notepads. He then stopped in the middle of his writing as if a thought had just struck him. “Hey, do you think Eunji might have some insight into why the shamblers are doing what they’re doing? Takes one to know one, as they say.”

Hakyeon hummed thoughtfully. “I do have a wave with Eunji scheduled for this time next week; I could ask her about it then. Contacting her ahead of time probably would arouse suspicion, though; the government gets really antsy with communications to the ghettos.”

“You could use one of Seungkwan’s sending tomes,” Minhyuk pointed out. “I doubt he would mind, and the information would be confidential.”

Hakyeon immediately shook his head. “Already tried that back when she was first sent away. Nearly got arrested for it.” At Minhyuk’s raised eyebrow, he added, “Another story for another time. The point is, all the gangsi ghettos and work camps have anti-magic fields around them. Makes the public feel safer, apparently. The only way you can get communication in is if you schedule it beforehand.”

“Well, drat,” Minhyuk grimaced, pushing away his notebook. "Was worth a shot at least." He glanced back at Hakyeon, his gaze becoming slightly concerned. “What about you, though, Hakyeon? Are you doing okay? You seem… tired. Well. More tired than usual. Are your flowers doing okay?”

“It’s been a long day,” Hakyeon admitted. There’d been a time where he would have denied anything was wrong even to his best friend, but he was old and wise enough to know when he needed to confide in someone. “We… nearly lost Subject 11 this morning when we took him out of the growth tank.” 

Minhyuk looked even more concerned. “Is he alright?”

“He’ll be alright,” Hakyeon assured him. “Thank goodness. It was touch and go there for a while, though. I thought… I really thought he might not make it.” He had to pause for a moment to collect himself; now that the danger was past and he finally had a moment to himself, the full gravity of what had almost happened threatened to overwhelm him. Seeking to change the subject, he instead asked, “Have you told the others our cover story yet?”

“The one about the ‘six brain-damaged Blight testing volunteers’ that came here for treatment on the supply transport earlier this week after they fell into our custody when Fantagio Incorporated was forcibly shut down a few months ago due to medical malpractice? No, not yet. I was waiting to see… well. How many would survive first. No point in setting false expectations, you know? No offense, friend.”

“None taken.” It hurt, but Hakyeon knew Minhyuk was only being pragmatic, and he appreciated the candor. It was, after all, why he’d been the first person Hakyeon had recruited for this project after his own core team.

“I’ll start spreading the story after dinner, probably. I’ll let everyone know your flowers need to be given a wide berth if they see you with them, but returned to your team ASAP they’re ever found wandering by themselves. And listen, you _need_ to send me pictures. I’m going to keep nagging you until you do. I’ve spent the last six years listening to you go on about this project, I want to actually _see_ the fruits of your labor, got it?”

“I’ll get right on that,” Hakyeon promised, knowing how much his friend adored children and animals. “I’ll come down and show you some of my archived camera footage later today, how’s that?”

“It’s about time! Are they cute, Hakyeon? Tell me if they’re cute, at least.”

“The _cutest_,” Hakyeon grinned. “They all have such individual personalities, too; one of the first things Subject 10 did when I introduced myself to him was bite me.”

Minhyuk laughed. “What I wouldn’t have given to see _that_ firsthand. What about the others?”

“Subject 9 is so clumsy, poor thing, but I have a sneaking suspicion that he’s probably the smartest out of all of them; he could be a force to be reckoned with if he could just manage to coordinate his limbs properly. Subject 7 is like a ray of sunlight personified, I don’t know where he gets all his energy from. And Subject 8-”

Hakyeon was interrupted by his persacom beeping insistently at him. “Just a moment.” Minhyuk nodded graciously, and Hakyeon opened the data pack Jaehwan sent him to find the following message: “Subject 12 woke up. If you don’t want him to have a panic attack, get down here _now_.”

* * *

Hakyeon skidded into the Lower Laboratory main room after sprinting there at full tilt, panting hard.

“Ah, there you are,” Jaehwan said from his seat over by the camera monitors, surrounded by a veritable snowfall of crumpled-up paper and stacks of notebooks. “About time, too, he’s been crying inconsolably for at least five minutes.”

“What woke him up so early?” Hakyeon demanded. “I’ve barely been gone half an hour!”

Jaehwan shrugged. “Beats me. Maybe he’s just a really light sleeper.”

“Has Taekwoon put the others down for a nap yet?”

Jaehwan glanced at another monitor. “He seems to be heading that direction. He’ll probably be done by the time you finish calming Subject 12 down.”

Hakyeon nodded, already striding purposefully toward the door leading deeper into the laboratory. “Tell him to meet me there the moment he’s done. You can head to the med center in the meantime; we’ll be right behind you.”

“You got it, leader-nim.” Jaehwan set his notebook down on the desk, and then Hakyeon was out the door, turning a few corners until he reached the closet Subject 12 was being kept in.

The hybrid looked up in shock as Hakyeon opened the door, huddling further into the corner he’d pressed himself into, his breathing loud and rapid, the blanket from the sleeping pallet tangled around his long legs. Recognition filled his teary eyes as Hakyeon stepped into the room, and he gave a loud, high whine, reaching out for Hakyeon like a child reaching for his mother. Hakyeon obliged him at once, wrapping the skinny, shaking body up tight in his arms and pulling him onto his lap as he took a seat on the pallet. 12 started calming immediately as Hakyeon’s arms encircled him, and he snuggled into the scientist with a shaky sob. As Hakyeon wiped his face down with his handkerchief, thinking back fondly to the time he’d had to do the same thing with 8 just a couple days ago, it occurred to him that 12 might be missing his growth tank. The others had taken to their new life in the labs so well that the fact that they’d spent their whole lives in those tanks had somehow slipped Hakyeon’s mind. It made total sense if not all of them would make the transition so easily.

“Poor baby,” he murmured, rubbing 12’s shoulder and back soothingly as the hybrid’s thumb made its way into his mouth. “You must have been so scared, being yanked out of your warm, peaceful home so rudely like that. It must be so cold and loud out here in comparison. You’ll get used to it, though, I promise.” 12 looked up at him and gave a soft, inquisitive hum around the digit in his mouth. “Yes, that’s right, you’ll be all used to us soon enough, don’t you worry,” Hakyeon cooed, gently pressing 12’s round, rosy cheeks between his palms and eliciting a bubbly giggle in response.

There was a knock on the door, the sound making 12 jump. “Everything okay in there?” came Taekwoon’s voice from the other side. “I came as soon as I could.” The door opened, and 12 scrambled off Hakyeon’s lap to hide behind him, squeezing between his back and the wall.

“Hey,” Hakyeon said, using the most soothing voice he could, reaching behind him to carefully pat 12’s arms as he clung to him tightly, burying his face in between his shoulder blades. “It’s okay, baby, it’s just Taekwoon. You don’t have to be scared, come on.” He beckoned Taekwoon in and motioned for him to shut the door before turning his attention back to calming the hybrid down.

After a few minutes, he finally succeeded in coaxing 12 out from behind him and back into his lap, where he huddled, shivering, sneaking tentative glances at Taekwoon from the safe circle of Hakyeon’s embrace. Taekwoon looked heartbroken at the creature’s fear of him, but respectfully kept his distance, crouching a few paces away as he tried to make himself seem as nonthreatening as possible. When 12 no longer looked like he was about to burst into tears at any moment, Taekwoon carefully extended a hand toward him. 12 regarded it with suspicion at first, but eventually, the glint of Taekwoon’s rings caught his attention, and he cautiously reached out to touch and then play with them, pulling the alchemist’s hand closer in his eagerness.

“You need to stop wearing those, Taekwoon,” Hakyeon teased. “They give you an unfair advantage.”

“Never,” vowed Taekwoon, thrilled at finally having won 12’s trust. He experimentally withdrew his hand, and 12 gave a little cry of disappointment, scrambling out of Hakyeon’s lap right into Taekwoon’s in his quest to follow the shiny objects.

“You’re terrible,” was Hakyeon’s deadpan response to the smug look Taekwoon shot him over the top of 12’s head. “Now come on, let’s see if we can get him walking before we get to the med center.”

* * *

It took a considerable amount of wheedling on the part of the two scientists to get Subject 12 to leave the closet, but once he did and nothing bad happened, he seemed to gain some confidence. He didn’t pick up walking as quickly as 10, 8, or even 7 had, but despite his resemblance to a newborn deer, neither was he as hopelessly clumsy as 9. With Taekwoon and Hakyeon supporting him on either side, he was finally mostly walking under his own power by the time they reached the med center.

Getting him to trust Jaehwan and especially Hongbin enough to let them study him was an endeavor. They finally succeeded after Taekwoon sat on one of the examination tables and held 12 on his lap, which reassured him enough that the checkup could commence. After making sure that everything seemed to be going smoothly, Hakyeon slipped out of the examination room.

He pushed back the curtain that had been drawn around 11’s sickbed, revealing Sanghyuk bent over his persacom, 11 still dead to the world on the bed as the ventilator rumbled away at its head. He walked over and placed a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “How’s he doing?”

Sanghyuk let out a breath and sat up straight, wincing a little as a few vertebrae audibly popped. “Sleeping like a stone, but otherwise no complications. Other than his lung issue, he’s perfectly healthy.”

“I’ll sit with him for now. Go take a break, stretch your legs a bit.”

Sanghyuk gave him a grateful look and vacated the chair, heading toward his office. Hakyeon slid into the empty chair, fingers curling around 11’s almost before he even registered he was moving. Something inside of him unwound just the slightest bit at the touch of warm skin against his. For the next several minutes, with every rise and fall of his creation’s chest, Hakyeon reassured himself that he was still alive, still with them, they hadn’t lost another one yet.

And then Subject 11’s pale lashes fluttered, his head shifting slightly on the pillow, his fingers tightening around Hakyeon’s. Had the sedatives really worn off already? Concerned, Hakyeon twisted around to call for Hongbin… but the words died in his throat as dark brown eyes opened fully for the first time, squinting in the bright lights of the med center.

“Hey,” Hakyeon breathed as those dark eyes, hazy and confused, locked with his. “You gave us quite a scare, you know that?” He smiled, and couldn’t resist reaching up to cup 11’s cheek in his free hand. “Welcome to the land of the living.”

To Hakyeon’s surprise, 11’s eyes crinkled in such a way that Hakyeon knew he had to be smiling back, even though he couldn’t see it behind the ventilator mask. The creature then glanced around at his surroundings in calm curiosity, before his eyes came to rest on his and Hakyeon’s clasped hands. His fingers tightened on Hakyeon’s again, his grip surprisingly firm and strong. On impulse, Hakyeon squeezed back, smile widening when 11 squeezed back even harder, a rush of affection warming him from head to toe.

A soft gasp made Hakyeon twist around to see Taekwoon peering in at them between the curtains, gazing 11 in relief and happiness. He made his way over to the bed, trailed by 12, who stuck to the alchemist’s side like glue, clinging to his clothing tightly. He couldn’t resist peeking out from behind him to look at the other hybrid on the bed even as he hung back in trepidation, though. Eventually, curiosity won out, and he crept out from behind Taekwoon and up to 11’s bedside, bolstered by the alchemist’s hand on his back. Though clearly still somewhat groggy, 11 seemed just as intrigued about his younger brother, watching him closely as he stepped up to the bed.

12 was the first to make a move, cautiously reaching out to poke at the ventilator mask covering 11’s mouth and nose. Both scientists tensed, ready to intervene should he get too rough, but 11 simply lay there and let him explore, making no move or sound. While part of it might have been due to residual weakness from his earlier ordeal, the tube currently shoved down his windpipe, and because he was still semi-high on the cocktail of sedatives he’d been given, his disposition seemed to be inherently peaceful and easygoing, and it was clearly working wonders on 12’s naturally nervous, jumpy temperament.

After poking and prodding at 11 for a bit, 12 moved on, running his hands over the blanket and mattress of the hospital bed in fascination. His hand accidentally bumped into 11’s, and before he could snatch his hand away, 11 reached out and grabbed it. 12 jumped slightly, but didn’t pull away, seeming to find the touch calming. 11’s eyes crinkled again, and he squeezed 12’s hand companionably, eliciting a sweet smile from the younger hybrid.

Then, before Hakyeon or Taekwoon could stop him, 12 clambered up onto the bed, clumsily but determinedly, and curled himself around 11 like he was an oversized teddy bear, nuzzling his face into his lavender-white hair with a content sigh. Despite the rather rough handling, 11 seemed perfectly content to let himself be used as a makeshift stuffed animal. Throughout it all, he still held tight to 12’s hand while clinging to Hakyeon’s with the other. Though Subject 11 wasn’t exactly tiny per se (Hakyeon estimated he was around 170 centimeters, which was honestly a little taller than he and Jaehwan had been aiming for), right then, he still looked very small next to Subject 12. 

After the two hybrids situated themselves side by side on the bed, they almost immediately dropped off to sleep, 12 exhausted from all the excitement and exercise of the day and 11 succumbing to the pull of the drugs in his system again. After committing the adorable image to memory, Hakyeon looked up and realized that they’d accumulated an audience.

“They balance each other out well, don’t they?” Jaehwan said with a grin.

“That they do,” Hakyeon replied fondly, before glancing at Hongbin. “What do you think, Binnie? Is Subject 11 well enough to get his mana drained and be put in the photosynthesis room for the night, or should we keep him here until tomorrow?”

“I’d go with the latter, personally,” Hongbin said, coming over and injecting something, presumably more sedative, into Subject 11’s IV line. “Just in case. I’d rather keep him on the ventilator for a few hours longer than necessary than take him off it too soon.”

“What about 12 and the other four?” Taekwoon spoke up softly. “How should we introduce him to them?”

“Good question.” Hakyeon thought for a moment. “How about this: we drain his mana and then just put him in the photosynthesis room with everyone else. That way he can get used to their presence, but from a distance. Tomorrow we can introduce 12 to at least a few of the other four one at a time before we get started on the preliminary physical and magical endurance tests, and we can bring 11 in near the end so they can start getting used to him, too. We're not in any rush, after all, they'll have plenty of time to get to know each other. Any objections?”

There were none.

As Jaehwan left to fetch Sanghyuk, Hakyeon slipped his fingers out of 11’s and placed his hand back on the bed with a gentle pat. He then activated his persacom, bringing up the camera feature. Time to send Minhyuk a proper apology for bailing so quickly on their meeting.

* * *

_Notes:_

_\- [<strike>Rocky</strike>/Subject 11](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/33/38/b5/3338b5a090a27f0bea38be7802b812c0.jpg) was crossed with a [Tatarinow's aster](https://img2.lrgarden.com/feed_pic/125/1/1000350589_1000013406_1506336065.jpg). Asters represent patience, elegance, and afterthought in the language of flowers, and in Japanese flower language, the Tatarinow’s aster has a particular meaning that roughly translates to “I won’t forget you.” Tararinow’s asters are also an edible species of aster commonly used in Korean cuisine and traditional Chinese medicine._

_\- [<strike>Sanha</strike>/Subject 12](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/39/54/14/39541475e5fe211ebaf228c0fcab9d44.jpg) was crossed with a [blue star hyacinth](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/61/59/a7/6159a77719721218fc5073b542921196.jpg). Blue hyacinth represent sincerity in the language of flowers. The flower also has connotations of playfulness, hope, and optimism. _

_\- The security team is made up of BTOB ([I’ll Be Your Man era](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__BFUf_nJl0)), Seventeen ([Getting Closer era](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTuR-e6aLRo)), and KNK ([Knock era](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYVDIZcb6Og)). _

_\- [BTOB and VIXX](https://sphericaleo.tumblr.com/post/177883359243/at-taekwoons-mercy-btovixx-13-the-fanboys) have all [been close](https://renquise.tumblr.com/post/108132227399/hyukson-btovixx-backstage-at-show-champion-%CE%B5) since their [trainee days](https://iljaes.tumblr.com/post/88396920551/whenever-hakyeon-feels-tired-as-a-leader-and-has); [Seventeen and VIXX](https://sevixxteen.tumblr.com/post/139680552016/jongtaekwoon-vixx-and-seventeen-%D9%88) have [a cute](https://sevixxteen.tumblr.com/post/148161722416/ken-loves-his-seungkwannie-dongsaeng) [mutual admiration thing](https://cheolshu.tumblr.com/post/157785805250/to-seungkwan-q-reason-for-liking-vixx-n) going on; and KNK’s Youjin and VIXX’s Leo were good friends before Youjin left celebrity life for mental health reasons. _


	6. Every Rose Has Its Thorn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *shows up 6 months late with Starbucks and a new chapter*

Early the next morning, Sanghyuk entered his office in the med center to begin his normal routine. After checking his inbox for new messages that demanded his immediate attention and finding none, and scrutinizing a few of the tissue samples they’d collected from their youngest two hybrids the previous day under his microscope to see if there had been any change in the speed of their deterioration, he headed out to the main room to check on Subject 11. The small hybrid slept soundly in his bed, chest still rising and falling steadily as the ventilator continued to breathe for him. Sanghyuk made quick work of checking his vitals and condition, and determined that the creature seemed completely recovered from his prior incident. He unhooked him from the ventilator and IV, resolving to come back later in thirty minutes just to make sure Subject 11 was ready to breathe fully on his own. He then removed the last port in his arm, bandaged him up, left him to sleep his sedation off, and resumed his research in the privacy of his office.

A few hours later, his persacom chimed. Without taking his eyes off the beaker bubbling merrily away on his Bunsen burner, he answered the ping… and immediately winced when “Hyukkie!” blared at full volume right next to his ear.

“Yes, hyung, what is it?” he answered.

“Could you bring 11 down to the fitness room, please? Taekwoon just finished establishing the older three’s baseline physical capabilities, so it’s the younger three’s turn while we put the others down for a nap,” said Hakyeon.

“So you decided to split them into groups of three after all,” Sanghyuk said, carefully removing the beaker off the heat with a pair of tongs. “I knew good sense would prevail at last. How are they handling the baby of the bunch?”

“Oh, he’s getting along with them famously,” Hakyeon said happily as Sanghyuk cleaned up his workbench and washed his hands. “He fits in so well! We were worried at first, you know; even after we let him out of his containment unit this morning he was still so jumpy and wouldn’t let go of me for a second, but we took 7 out by himself, and he finally managed to get 12 to come out of his shell and start playing. We eventually had to take 7 away so we could start testing, and we haven’t put him in the same room with 8 and 9 yet, but what little interactions he’s had with them seem to have been positive.

“And,” Hakyeon continued gushing as Sanghyuk moved out into the main area of the med center, “10’s taken to him like a fish to water. He’s just so protective over him, it’s adorable. I think he likes having a little brother.”

“Hyung, you’re projecting again,” Sanghyuk warned.

“Oh, shush.” Sanghyuk could all but _hear_ the dismissive hand wave. “Even puppies and kittens enjoy playing together; why would our hybrids be any different? Speaking of, bring 11 down within the next ten minutes, if you could; Taekwoon wants to finish up the prelims before dinner.”

“Will do,” Sanghyuk replied, and ended the call. He frowned at his persacom for a few seconds, standing a few beds down from 11’s. What was _with_ his eldest hyungs lately? Their attachment to their creations was just baffling, not to mention slightly concerning as well. Seriously, they were just oversized, human-shaped plants, what could possibly-

Something gently touched his hand, and Sanghyuk’s heart nearly jumped right out of his chest. Subject 11 stood next to him in the middle of the floor, looking up at him with placid, dark brown eyes. He reached for Sanghyuk’s hand again, and Sanghyuk jerked it away, taking a step back in bewilderment.

“How did-? Did you _walk_ all the way over here?” Sanghyuk demanded of the short hybrid. “All by yourself?”

The second the words left his mouth, he wanted to smack himself. Barring a sudden manifestation of teleporting magic, _of course_ the hybrid had walked there. Which defied explanation, because if he’d actually managed to teach himself to walk _all by himself_…

Sanghyuk shuffled back a few more paces just to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. Subject 11 followed him immediately, taking small but sure steps across the floor, and reached for Sanghyuk’s hand a third time. Sanghyuk gave in and let him have it, his fingers engulfing the hybrid’s significantly smaller ones entirely. 11 smiled contently, deep dimples (**_Hongbin’s_**_ dimples_) appearing in his cheeks. He leaned his whole body into Sanghyuk’s, snuggling into his side as he squeezed the doctor’s hand in a surprisingly firm, strong grip. Sanghyuk stiffened at the full-body contact, eyes darting around the empty med center in panic, and he found himself desperately wishing Hakeyon or Taekwoon would walk in the door right them.

However, his hyungs let him down, and he was forced to deal with the inexplicably cuddly hybrid on his own. “Um… yeah,” he began, awkwardly patting 11 on the head. “Okay then. Time to go, I guess.”

He stepped away, still keeping a hold of 11’s hand. The hybrid wobbled dangerously for a moment before catching himself, and Sanghyuk was duly impressed by the creature’s remarkable coordination and stamina, especially given the issues he’d had previously with his lungs. Speaking of, though…

Despite how well he’d been doing so far, Subject 11’s breath was starting to come in wheezing, labored pants, and his legs trembled from the effort of holding him up for so long. Sanghyuk took pity on the thing and slung the hand holding his over his shoulder, wrapping his other arm around 11’s waist to securely prop him up and take most of the strain off his tired legs. 11 seemed pacified at the physical contact and happily, trustingly followed Sanghyuk wherever he led.

As they were about to leave the med center, the metal automatic door opened to reveal Hongbin holding a clipboard and a small box of glass slides. He nodded at Sanghyuk and gave Subject 11 a small smile as he stepped through and the door obediently closed behind him. “Walking already, are we?”

“Yup, taught himself and everything,” Sanghyuk said as 11 gazed up at the newcomer interestedly. “You gotta admit, that’s pretty impressive for someone who almost asphyxiated just 24 hours ago.”

Hongbin raised an eyebrow as he absorbed this information. “He taught himself not just to stand, but to walk without any help whatsoever?”

Sanghyuk nodded. “Never seen anything like it, hyung. Taekwoon’s going to have a field day with this one, that’s for sure.”

“I’m sure he wi- what is he doing?”

Subject 11 was staring at his reflection in the med center door, utterly fascinated. He tilted his head this way and that, pressing slightly closer into Sanghyuk’s side and clinging to his shirt with the hand that wasn’t looped over the man’s broad shoulders.

“It’s just your reflection, sprout,” Sanghyuk said, amused despite himself at the hybrid’s antics.

“Oh, for- the mirror test wasn’t scheduled until next week!” Hongbin said in exasperation. “Get him out of here before he ruins my data sample.”

“We can’t keep them away from every shiny surface in the facility until your test, hyung.”

“Fine, I’ll move it up to Friday.”

“Not what I-”

“_Out_.”

“Fine, fine.” Sanghyuk tugged Subject 11 along with him toward the door, and the hybrid jumped slightly as it slid open for him, eyes round and shocked. “Come on, 11, let’s leave mean ol’ Hongbin-hyung alone with his samples and microscope. He always did love them the best, anyway.”

“I know where you work, brat.”

* * *

Subject 11’s eyes remained large and curious as Sanghyuk guided him down to the Lower Laboratory and deeper into the facility. They traveled past the geneticists offices, the rec room, the grow room, the closets and storage rooms, the smaller labs, until they finally reached the largest storage room, which had been repurposed into a place where they could test their creations’ physical fitness without the risk of having to use the facility’s actual gym.

As they arrived, they met Wonshik and Jaehwan coming from the opposite direction. Wonshik carried a droopy, exhausted Subject 9 on his back. The hybrid’s head rested limply on his shoulder, violet-blue hair damp and tousled, his eyes half-lidded and glassy, as if he were only barely conscious. Jaehwan, meanwhile, carried Subject 8 in one arm and led Subject 7 by the hand. 8 was already dead to the world, slumped pliantly against Jaehwan’s chest, and Subject 7, while the most conscious of the three hybrids, dragged his feet and listed into Jaehwan’s side, looking like he might just fall asleep on his feet if Jaehwan stopped walking. The eldest two also had damp hair and were dressed in a fresh change of clothes.

“Hey, Hyukkie!” Jaewhan said cheerily, jostling 8 on his arm, causing the creature to mumble something unintelligible and curl closer into him. “Nice to see 11 up and about, too, hi, little guy!” He waved with the hand holding 7’s.

“What did you guys do in there?” Sanghyuk asked, glancing incredulously at the three exhausted hybrids. “Last time I saw someone this tired was when Taekwoon pulled a three day long all-nighter and was running on nothing but coffee fumes and spite by the time Hakyeon-hyung forced him to go to bed.”

“The hyungs really put them through their paces,” Wonshik said. Ignoring Sanghyuk’s wry “you don’t say,” he continued, “They’ll rope you in to help them, I’m sure, so you can get a first-hand look at the process.”

“And before you ask, we already helped with these guys, we’re free for the day after we put them down for a nap,” Jaehwan added. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, 8’s heavier than he looks and my arm is killing me.”

Sanghyuk made a face, but chose to not comment further as his colleagues walked past. Subject 11 stared in fascination at the two tall men and three hybrids as they passed, craning his neck to keep them in sight. Subject 7 was the only hybrid conscious enough to notice him, but barely had enough time for a quick, sleepy smile before Jaewhan pulled him around a corner out of sight. 11 briefly stopped walking, and then tried to tug against Sanghyuk’s hold on him to go the other way, clearly wanting to follow the group of interesting new beings.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Sanghyuk chastised, bodily hauling 11 along with him down the hall. “We have somewhere to be. You can socialize later.”

Before the hybrid could get too upset, they reached the fitness testing room, and 11 immediately forgot everything else when Sanghyuk opened the door. The former storage room had been outfitted with equipment to test cardiorespiratory endurance, musculoskeletal strength and endurance, flexibility, and dexterity. A small control booth had also been built into an upper level accessible through a side staircase that, that, in addition to controlling the general functions of the room, could also create obstacles and mazes made out of hard light, which would come in handy as the hybrids developed better control over their bodies.

Subjects 10 and 12 sat in the middle of the large room on a thick mat, rolling a soccer ball between them as Hakyeon and Taekwoon watched them closely. All heads turned in the direction of the opening door, and Subject 12 lit up like a light bulb the second he laid eyes on 11. Completely ignoring the ball 10 rolled toward him, he scramble-crawled across the floor as fast as he could and wrapped the smaller creature in a tight hug, whining happily. Subject 11 looked equally happy to see his younger brother again and returned the hug as best he was able.

“Just in time, Sanghyuk,” Hakyeon said, retrieving the soccer ball as Taekwoon helped Subject 10 to his feet. “We were just about to start without you.”

“Hyung!” Sanghyuk gasped in mock outrage as he chivvied 11 and a very clingy 12 over to where the other three stood. “You _wound_ me. How could you even consider such a thing?”

Subject 10 meanwhile, clung to Taekwoon’s hand and stared fixedly at the newcomer, brow furrowed. His blue eyes darted from 12 to 11 and back again. Without warning, he reached out and yanked Subject 12 away from 11, pushing him behind himself and standing in front of him and Taekwoon protectively, growling low in his throat.

Subject 11 instinctually took a step back at the heated glare the older hybrid leveled at him, confusion and hurt filling his dark eyes. This galvanized Hakyeon into action, and he swooped in and enfolded 11 in a tight hug, petting his hair soothingly. Subject 10’s face darkened even further at this, a snarl curling his upper lip, and he took one step forward before Sanghyuk stepped in to intercept him, relinquishing 11 into Hakyeon’s capable hands.

“Hey, calm down, you,” he said sternly as Subject 10 turned that piercing blue stare on him instead. He put both hands on his shoulders and gently but firmly shoved him back, grip tightening as another growl rumbled out of the hybrid’s throat. “None of that.”

Subject 10 held his gaze for a couple tense seconds more before he finally huffed and turned away, sulkily hiding his face in Taekwoon’s shoulder and still holding tight to both his hand and 12’s. He seemed to relax a little as Taekwoon patted his head, and the scientists all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

“What was that about?” Sanghyuk asked in bewilderment. While the scientists had worried previously that their creations might be hostile to each other, none of them had ever shown true signs of aggression like this before. Why had Subject 10 chosen now to exhibit them?

“If I didn’t know better, I’d almost say Subject 10 was _jealous_,” Taekwoon added, continuing to stroke the hybrid’s hair as he let go of 12’s hand and wrapped both arms around Taekwoon instead, pressing as close as possible.

“He is,” Hakyeon said matter-of-factly as an extremely content 11 plastered himself to his side and didn’t look like he’d be letting go anytime soon. At the incredulous looks he received, he shrugged. “It would make sense. They all have very simple minds, after all. They only understand things as they relate to themselves and their needs like any normal creature would. Sustenance, play, touch, attention. If they don’t get it or someone threatens to take it away, naturally they’d become defensive. Subject 11 is taking away Subject 12’s attention as well as ours, and Subject 10 is reacting accordingly.”

“Is this when you start talking about psychology and the trust vs. mistrust stage of emotional development and all that jazz?” Sanghyuk asked, grimacing as Subject 12 sidled up to him and tugged entreatingly at his arm, since the other two scientists were already preoccupied. He reluctantly patted the hybrid on the shoulder, wondering when this had become his life.

“Nothing as complicated as all that,” Hakyeon said. “But the basics are essentially the same. We just have to wait and see if Subject 10 will eventually accept the fact that 11’s presence doesn’t mean his own needs won’t still continue to be met. Isn’t that right, 11?” He hugged the creature tighter around the shoulders, earning himself another charming, dimpled smile. 

“Here’s hoping, I guess.” Sanghyuk grimaced as Subject 12 laid his head on his shoulder with a happy trill. “Why did every single one of them have to inherit _your_ neediness, though? That seems statistically impossible.”

“Taekwoon _and_ Wonshik both exist, young man,” Hakyeon huffed. “Don’t try to pin this all on me.” 

“If you two are quite done,” Taekwoon said, eyes smiling. “Let’s begin the second batch of tests. Now, we’ll have to postpone or eliminate some usual fitness tests simply because they’ll be impossible to explain to someone with no language ability, but I’ve modified some basic tests for children and dogs that worked well enough for the older three…”

* * *

“Come on, dear, you can do it, just a little bit further! Yes! Yes! _Yes_, you did it, what a good boy!” Hakyeon praised, catching Subject 11’s sweaty, trembling form in his arms before he could collapse fully to the ground. The hybrid, who had just finished climbing up, over, and down a tall set of padded metal bars arranged in the shape of an obtuse triangle, immediately melted into the embrace, nuzzling him contently. “Who’s a talented boy? It’s 11! 11 is!”

“Hyung, read the room a little, would you?” Sanghyuk hissed, jerking his head to where Subject 10 was in the process of slowly, painstakingly maneuvering his way over an almost identical barred structure, carefully watched over and encouraged by Taekwoon. The tall hybrid’s eyes kept flicking over to Hakyeon and Subject 11, clear, unmistakable frustration in their vivid blue depths. He kept trying to climb faster, the way Subject 11 had, but he kept slipping and banging his limbs against the padded bars, which simply impeded his progress and frustrated him even more. 

“He’s going to have to get over this attitude sooner or later, Sanghyuk,” Hakyeon said pragmatically, settling himself more comfortably on the ground so he could pull Subject 11 into his lap for a reward cuddle (the hybrid looked like he’d died and gone to heaven). “And if this proves a motivator to do better on his testing then he would otherwise, so much the better. Competitiveness isn’t necessarily a negative personality trait.”

“You have a point, I guess, but- easy there, sprout!” Sanghyuk caught Subject 12 from falling headfirst off his own climbing frame yet again. The lanky, uncoordinated creature had only barely made it halfway up the structure even after ten minutes, and every centimeter of progress had been a struggle.

Five minutes later, Subject 10 finally made it off his structure and into Taekwoon’s waiting arms, where he lay sprawled, panting so loudly it echoed in the large room. A few minutes after that, Subject 12 started to cry, unable to figure out how to climb down the other side of the structure. His arms and legs trembled so badly they could barely hold his weight anymore, and Taekwoon sighed, entering something into his persacom.

“Take him down, Hyukkie,” he said, gently pulling Subject 10’s curious hands away from the valuable piece of hardware. “We’ve gotten all the data I think we’re going to get for today. At least he got further than Subject 9 did.”

“Subject 9 couldn’t do this either?” Sanghyuk asked, though the news didn’t come as a huge shock.

“Poor thing nearly gave himself a concussion trying,” Hakyeon said as Taekwoon nodded.

“9’s coordination is still terrible, unfortunately,” the alchemist said sadly. “He seems to be getting a little better, but it was a struggle for him to even complete most of the tasks. About the only thing he’s got going for him is he has a good amount of raw strength, though Subject 10 still has him beat in that area, too. Hopefully he scores better on Hongbin’s mental capacity tests.”

Sanghyuk carefully carried a still-teary Subject 12 over to where Taekwoon sat on the floor. Subject 10 immediately reached out and made grabby hands for his younger brother, glaring at Sanghyuk as if _he_ were the one personally responsible for his tears. As Subject 12 gladly snuggled up to his brother and Taekwoon, Subject 11, who had regained a little strength by now, observed the sight longingly. He crawled shakily out of Hakyeon’s lap and sat quietly near them while Subject 10 and 12 chirred and jabbered at each other.

“So, what’s the damage, then, hyungs?” Sanghyuk asked, leaning against a nearby piece of equipment while the hybrids rested. “I assume Subjects 7 and 8 generally scored better than Subject 9, at least?”

“All the results are within acceptable parameters,” Hakyeon said. “Except for maybe 9’s, and we can still work with them, provided his coordination improves with time. In some respects, though, they even exceeded our expectations. Especially this little guy here.” He stroked Subject 11’s lavender hair fondly right before the hybrid scrambled away to follow the soccer ball that Taekwoon rolled across the floor for him. “But yes, 7 and 8 both did quite well. Motivation for 8 seems to be a problem, though.”

“How so?”

“He’s… hm, how can I put this? Slow. Not mentally or anything, he just doesn’t seem to like to hurry. He’s… very deliberate. Takes his time with everything. He still managed to complete all the tests, though, and he’s much more agile than his speed would indicate. Given his general strength, dexterity, and stamina stats, I’m even willing to bet that he _could_ be much faster than he is now if he just found the proper motivation. Not sure what that would entail, exactly, but we have time to find out.

“Subject 7, meanwhile,” Hakyeon glanced down at his persacom as Subjects 10 and 12 roused themselves to join 11’s game, “has average to below average stats in everything except speed, and he’s only in third place because Subjects 10 and 11 blew everyone else away in that category.”

“What about numinosity levels?

“Subject 8 has the lowest level at 54-”

“Oh right, even the magic _weakling_ of the group has a higher mana level than the average human being, thanks for reminding me,” Sanghyuk interrupted, dragging a hand down his face tiredly.

“As I was _saying_,” Hakyeon continued, glaring. “Subject 8 has the lowest numinosity level, and Subject 12 has the highest level at-” He stopped suddenly, giving Sanghyuk a calculating look. “Actually, for the sake of your blood pressure, maybe it’s best I just not tell you.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t,” Sanghyuk agreed fervently. He had enough things weighing on his mind already, thank you very much. 

“Subject 11 is the only one whose mana levels we haven’t had a chance to measure yet,” Hakyeon continued, “but considering the scores of the others, I’m thinking he’ll be anywhere from slightly below Subject 10 to slightly above Subject 9, somewhere in that range. Jaewhan and I took what we learned from building the previous four and applied it to the youngest two in order to see how far we could push their physical and magical capabilities, respectively, and from the results we’ve gotten so far, it seems like we succeeded, especially given what you told us about 11 learning to stand and walk all by himself, Sanghyuk.”

“Mmm,” Sanghyuk replied, glancing at the small hybrid, who was tussling for the ball with his brothers. While the other two laughed and shrieked and babbled amongst themselves, Subject 11… didn’t. He wasn’t making any noise at all, as a matter of fact. He seemed to be having fun, at least when Subject 10 wasn’t trying to steal the ball from him or trip him up at every available opportunity, but the childish sounds that the other two produced were conspicuously absent. Actually… Sanghyuk mentally went over the entire day’s events and frowned thoughtfully.

“Something wrong, Sanghyuk?” Hakyeon asked, giving him a shrewd look. He never missed anything, did he?

“It’s just… speaking of Subject 11,” Sanghyuk said slowly. “Have either of you heard him make any noise at all today?”

Hakyeon and Taekwoon looked at him in surprise, then at Subject 11, as if they were seeing him for the first time.

“He _is_ awfully quiet, isn’t he?” Hakyeon said finally. “Especially compared to the others.”

“Maybe he’s just shy,” Taekwoon offered. “And he’ll start making noise when he feels ready.”

“That could be it,” Hakyeon said, though faint worry lines creased his brow. “He also spent an entire day with a ventilator tube shoved down his throat, so it could just be uncomfortable for him to vocalize at the moment. But… if he doesn’t start in the next couple of days, you or Hongbin should take a look at him, Sanghyuk. Just in case.”

“Sure,” Sanghyuk agreed readily. The scientists watched their creations play for another couple minutes, before Subject 10 started getting a little _too_ rough with Subject 11.

“Alright, I think they need a break from each other,” Hakyeon said after Subject 10 bodily shoulder checked the smaller hybrid and knocked him completely flat. “Taekwoon, you take 11 to the lab bathroom and get him washed up; Sanghyuk and I can take 10 and 12 to the VIP suite bathrooms, and then I think it’s time to put them with the others so they can recharge.”

The other two agreed, but when they went to break the game up, Subject 10 took the opportunity to snatch the soccer ball away from Subject 11, and outright refused to give it up.

And then, on the other side of the door, Hongbin’s voice said, “Hey, Hakyeon-hyung, Wonshikie said you were still in here, could you-” The door opened, and Subject 10 saw his chance and took it.

“No, Hongbin, quick! Catch him-!” But it was too late. Subject 10 bolted through the door, stumble-running at a frankly impressive speed down the hallways, clutching the soccer ball close to his chest. Without thinking twice, Sanghyuk shoved Subject 12 at Hakyeon and gave chase, pushing past Hongbin without so much as an ‘excuse me.’

A pink and white blur turned the far corner of the hallway, and Sanghyuk scrambled after it. As he approached, a loud CRASH echoed down the hallway that sent a jolt of panic straight up Sanghyuk’s spine. Turning the corner, he saw an upended cart that had previously been loaded down with several large buckets full of cut roses. Wonshik and a short woman Sanghyuk recognized as Seulgi stared down in bewilderment and no small amount of concern at the dazed, sprawled creature lying in a large puddle of dirty water on the other side of the cart. Red and white roses covered him from head to toe, his legs, arms, and feet bleeding sluggishly from the scratches the thorns had inflicted. As everyone watched, tears welled up in Subject 10’s eyes and silently spilled down his cheeks, and the sight galvanized everyone into action.

Wonshik crouched down to help him sit up, while Suelgi started gathering up the spilled roses and overturned buckets. Sanghyuk hurried to help as Hakyeon and Hongbin rounded the corner, Subject 12 leaning on Hakyeon heavily as the head scientist helped him walk.

“What in the world happened?” Hakyeon demanded at the chaotic sight. They filled him in while Hongbin went straight to Subject 10’s side and checked him over. Big tears rolled steadily down 10’s cheeks as small, hiccupping sobs fought their way out of his throat, his dazed eyes filled with confusion and pain.

“Well, he doesn’t seem to be seriously injured,” Hongbin finally said, having finished his cursory examination. “He’s just a bit banged up, and he needs those cuts cleaned and bandaged.”

“Thank heavens for that,” Hakyeon said, giving Subject 10 a comforting hug, which seemed to calm him considerably. Subject 12 hovered worriedly nearby, sympathetic tears wetting his own cheeks at his elder brother’s pain and distress. “Meet us in the grow room in half an hour; we should be done with their baths by then, and you can get him patched up before their nap.”

Hongbin nodded and left for the med center as Sanghyuk and Wonshik helped Seulgi gather up the last of the roses she’d brought down for Wonshik’s perfume lab.

“Sorry about the mess, Seulgi,” Hakyeon apologized as Subject 10 began to gnaw on his finger to soothe himself, still sniffling pitifully. “Everyone’s still adjusting to the new dynamics in the labs, and it’s been a bit hectic.”

“Don’t worry about it,” the botanist said, gathering up another handful of roses. “Kids are a handful. I hope he gets better soon.” She glanced again at his scratched up arms and legs and frowned thoughtfully. “I have to admit I’m curious about the fact that his blood is red, though. I’d have thought it would be green because of the chlorophyll in his cells.”

“Ah, we thought about that,” Hakyeon said as he passed Subject 12 off to Sanghyuk so that Wonshik could heft 10 onto his back. “But due to their hybrid physiology, their hemoglobin has to carry both oxygen and carbon dioxide instead of just one or the other in order for them to function at all. Luckily, Jaewhan was able to figure out how to engineer a cross between human and plant hemoglobin, and since oxygen is what turns red blood cells red, all our hybrids have red blood despite being part plant.”

Seulgi looked dutifully impressed, and opened her mouth, presumably to inquire further, and then thought better of it. “Never mind, I’ll ask Jaehwan about it later,” she said, waving them away with a handful of white roses. “Don’t let me keep you.”

With that, Sanghyuk and Hakyeon whisked their creations off to get them cleaned up. Hakyeon went straight to the bathtub, plopped Subject 10 inside, and turned the water on. Intrigued by the water, 10 temporarily forgot to cry and began splashing around, stray rose petals dropping off him left and right to float on the water’s surface.

Meanwhile, Sanghyuk was trying this utmost to wrestle Subject 12 into the shower, with limited success. As he turned on the water to get it warming up, 12 got thoroughly spooked by the loud sound, wrenched his wrist away from Sanghyuk’s grip, and bolted. Fear lent strength to his tired limbs, and he scrambled through the door, which had been left open a crack, before Sanghyuk could grab him again.

“I hate my life,” Sanghyuk groused, shutting the shower off with more force than was strictly necessary before stomping off to peruse the wayward hybrid. Which proved to be easier said than done. With a roll of his eyes, Sanghyuk brought up the tracking program on his persacom, synced it with his cybernetic eyes, and looked up, an overlay in his vision now showing a yellow, flashing spot just ahead and to the right, inside one of the bedrooms lining that side of the hall.

Entering the opulent bedroom, Sanghyuk followed the signal to a tiny cabinet that was partially open. Incredulously, he pushed the door open the rest of the way to find Subject 12 curled up inside.

“How in the _world_ did you squeeze all those limbs in there?” Sanghyuk said in disbelief to the knot of lanky limbs and wide, scared eyes. “Oh well, that’s neither here nor there.” He held out a hand and channeled Hakyeon to the best of his ability. “Come on, now, don’t you want a bath? Don’t you want to get out of those gross, sweaty clothes? Come on, that’s it…”

It took a considerable amount of wheedling, but Sanghyuk eventually persuaded Subject 12 out of the cabinet. The instant the creature got his limbs free, he octopused onto Sanghyuk with every one of them, burying his face in his shoulder and whimpering high in his throat. Sanghyuk told himself he didn’t feel even the slightest bit charmed at this, and returned to the bathroom, Subject 12’s light form held securely in his arms.

“Well, that took less time than I thought it would,” Hakyeon said as they entered, busily scrubbing down Subject 10 in the bathtub.

“What can I say? I’m persuasive,” Sanghyuk replied, closing the door behind him and locking it for good measure. “Now, let’s try this again…”

Subject 12 again balked as Sanghyuk carried him to the shower, and Sanghyuk winced as his grip on him tightened to the extent it was outright painful. 12’s whimpering got even louder as Sanghyuk turned on the water again and held his hand under the spray to gauge the temperature.

“Hey!” Sanghyuk finally snapped, flicking his wet fingers and sending a spray of water directly into 12’s face. “Quit it. It’s just water, get over it.”

The action startled 12 so much that he stopped whimpering, blinking his big, blue-grey eyes in surprise. He pried one hand off its death grip on Sanghyuk’s lab coat to reach up to touch his face, and withdrew it to see the moisture covering his fingers. He glanced between his fingers and the shower spray a few times… and then squeaked as Sanghyuk rolled his eyes and shoved his hand under the spray again. After a few seconds of deliberation, Subject 12 followed his lead, tentatively reaching out to touch the streams of water with a finger, then his whole hand, then his whole arm.

“There, you see?” Sanghyuk said, grinning lopsidedly as the creature’s eyes went wide in wonder. “Nothing to be scared about, everything’s perfectl- woah, _easy_ there!”

He only barely kept ahold of his passenger as Subject 12 chose that moment to lean his entire upper body under the shower stream. As he giggled and spluttered, the water immediately soaking him to the skin, Sanghyuk resigned himself to the fact that he would also undoubtedly be sopping wet by the end of this experience. But for now, there was no harm in letting Subject 12 have his fun.

* * *

Half an hour later, the washing up was done at last, and true to Sanghyuk’s prediction, he was almost as wet as his charge by the end of it. Wetter, after the hybrid had finally been toweled off and dressed in a fresh change of clothes. Getting him to that stage was hardly a struggle, as Subject 12 was so exhausted by that time that he could barely do anything other than stand there while he was dried and dressed, and slumped bonelessly against Sanghyuk as he was hefted back up into his strong arms. Subject 10 was a little more alert, but not by much, and also lay limp and pliant in Hakyeon’s embrace, his cuts and scratches starting to scab over at last.

On the way back to the grow room, they met Taekwoon carrying Subject 11 in a bridal carry, the hybrid nestled trustingly against him, almost completely asleep, hugging the retrieved soccer ball tightly to his chest. Hongbin was also there waiting with a first aid kit. 7 and 9 woke up immediately when the door to the grow room opened, and the ensuing commotion also woke up Subject 8, who’d previously been but a mere small, green lump in the furthest corner of his cage. His disgruntled, disheveled look as he peeked drowsily out from under his blanket-rag was equal parts hilarious and adorable.

Hakyeon sat on the floor near the door with Subject 10 held securely in his lap to let Hongbin tend to his wounds. After double checking the waterproof bandages covering the canister extraction injuries from a few days ago, just to make sure they were still in place, Hongbin laid out a few more bandages, some cotton balls, and a bottle of antiseptic, and got to work.

Meanwhile, Sanghyuk and Taekwoon moved to put 11 and 12 in their own containment units on the other side of the room, though this was easier said than done. His bath had evidently made Subject 12 clingy, and he only clung tighter to Sanghyuk’s clothes as the doctor tried to put him in his cage. As Sanghyuk attempted to pry him off, Taekwoon was having his own issues with Subject 11, who had started to squirm in his arms, tugging insistently on his shirt to get his attention.

“What is it, dear?” Taekwoon murmured, crouching down in front of the middle left containment unit. He followed 11’s line of sight over to where 10 sat fidgeting in Hakyeon’s lap, face scrunched up in discomfort at Hongbin’s ministrations. “No, sweetheart, he’s busy, it’s time for you to sleep now.”

As Taekwoon set him down on the floor to open the door of his cage, 11 took the opportunity to roll the soccer ball over to 10. The ball hit his hand, making him jump slightly before he recognized the object, and his face broke into a wide smile. He immediately grabbed it and set it in his lap with a satisfied hum, before looking up to see where it had come from, causing him to lock eyes with the younger hybrid. Subject 11 beamed brightly at him, cocking his head slightly to the side, and a soft, raspy hum, almost too quiet to hear, emerged from his hitherto unused vocal cords.

As Sanghyuk, Taekwoon, and Hakyeon stared at the previously mute hybrid in shock, Subject 10 cocked his head to the other side, mirroring 11’s posture, before an answering smile spread across his own face. Hongbin dabbing at one of his scratches with an antiseptic-soaked cotton ball wiped it away a second later, and he hid his face in Hakyeon’s arm with a pained whine. Just like that, the spell was broken. Taekwoon picked an unresisting Subject 11 up and placed him in his containment unit, shutting the door swiftly behind him. Likewise, Sanghyuk took advantage of Subject 12’s drowsiness to finally pry him off and place him in his own containment unit, hardening his heart against the betrayed crocodile tears that welled up in the creature’s large eyes.

The other hybrids stared in fascination as Hongbin finished smearing ointment on the large goose egg that had formed on Subject 10’s forehead. The rest of his cuts and scrapes had been bandaged up, and Hongbin finally closed up his first aid kit.

“There, that should do it,” he said, leaning back to stretch the kinks out of his spine. “Let’s all just cross our fingers and hope that the little rapscallion leaves the bandages alone long enough for everything to start healing up. Last thing we need is one of them getting an infection due to carelessness.”

Said rapscallion was poking gingerly at his various bandages with a look of rapt amazement. Impulsively, he lunged out of Hakyeon’s lap to wrap his arms around Hongbin in a tight hug. The doctor, unfortunately, wasn’t fast enough to dodge. As one, Taekwoon and Sanghyuk whipped out their persacoms to document the moment as Hakyeon cooed adoringly in the background.

“I hate _all_ of you, I hope you know that.” 

* * *

_Notes:_

_\- For anyone wondering about <strike>Moonbin</strike>/Subject 10's attitude in this chapter, I based it off of [this 2017 interview](https://asterocky.tumblr.com/post/160920147200/first-impressions-with-moon-bin) where Moonbin admitted that he was jealous of Rocky back when they first met due to Rocky's talent at dancing despite being younger than Moonbin, and subsequently was a little mean to him. He got over it and they're good bros now, of course, but it's a good reminder that not everyone in a group will be buddy-buddy best friends right off the bat, especially not in a industry as competitive and stressful as Kpop's, especially considering how young these kids are when they're training and preparing to debut. Little rivalries and jealousies are bound to develop if the work isn't put in to nip them in the bud quickly, and I think it's a testament to how sweet and good-natured Moonbin is at heart that he didn't let his first impressions of Rocky prevent them from eventually becoming close. _

**Author's Note:**

> Please consider leaving a comment if you have a few spare moments to feed the starving author and keep her motivated! Thank you in advance! ♥


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